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MARTYHOLOG1". 



THE 



WESTERN MARTYROLOGY; 

OR, BLOODY ASSIZES. 



CONTAINING THE 



Lities, Crtals, ann .Dging ^>peedbe0 

OF ALL THOSE EMINENT PROTESTANTS 

THAT SUFFERED IN THE WEST OF ENGLAND, AND ELSE- 
WHERE, FROM THE YEAR 1678 TO THIS TIME ; 

TOGETHER WITH THE 

LIFE AND DEATH OF GEORGE L. JEFFREYS. 

TO WHICH IS NOW ADDED, TO MAKE IT COMPLEAT, 

AN ACCOUNT OF THE BARBAROUS WHIPPINGS OF SEVERAL 
PERSONS IN THE WEST. 

Also the TRIAL and CASE of Mr. JOHN TUTCHIN (the author of the 

Observatory), with the Cruel Sentence passed upon him ; and his 

Petition to K. James to be Hanged : never before printed. 



REPRINTED FROM THE FIFTH EDITION, 

With an Alphabetical Table to the whole. 



ffiottfccm : 
JAMES BLACKWOOD & CO., 8, LOVEL 
PATERNOSTER ROW. 

MDCCCLXXIII. 



^ 







UNWIN BROTHERS, 
PRINTERS, 
LONDON AND CHILWORT*?- 




7"o the Memory of those Worthy Protestants who suffered 

in the West, and elsewhere, from the Year 1678, 

to this present Time. 

Since that free Agent who conducts the W©rld, 
His Wheels of Providence has backward whirl' d, 
And by the Turn Men to their Senses brings, 
To loath ttieir Idol- Priests and Idol- Kings, 
{ Finding a Popish Promise proves all one, 
From an Ignatian Chair, and from a Throne. 1 ) 
Since o'er-indulgent Heaven has been so kind, 
To op'n our Eyes by Miracles, we find 
All Men admiring they've so long been blind ; 
Surpris'd, they should so long their Friends oppose, 
And with their credulous Trust caress their Foes. 
Amidst <the numerous Wonders of the Time, 
5 Tis n© small Wonder (not to say a Crime) 
We reverence no more their Memory, 
Who for their Country's Welfare dar'd to die ; 
Whose quarter'd Limbs imbru'd with Native Gore, 
Still cry for Vengeance on the Western Shore. 
Why should we with ignoble Triumph tread 
Upon the silent Ashes of the Dead ? 
And with insulting Feet their Dust profane, 
Whose free-born Souls spurn at a slavish Chain : 
Souk (not so sensless, so supine as ours) 
That early saw the Drift of Romisk Powers, 
Early disdained those Yokes with generous Scorn, 
Which our more servile Necks have tamely born ; 
That saw the hovering Storm approach from far, 
Threatning a thousand Mischiefs (worse than War) 
And boldly rush'd upon th' impetuous Waves, 
Rather to die like Men than live like Slaves ; 
To save their Native Country bravely try'd, 
Fail'd in th' Attempt, and then as bravely dy'd. 

A 2 



iv <Eo tlje qfyzmovv of, $c* 

In vain would envious Clouds their Fame obscure, 
Which to eternal Ages must endure : 
In vain do virulent Tongues attempt to stain 
The Solid Glory Noble Patriots gain ; 
If ill Designs some to the Battle drew, 
*Tis impious to condemn all for a few : 
If fawning Traitors in their Councils sate, ' 

*Tis base to mock, rather lament their Fate : 
Tho' God (for England's Sins) refused to bless 
u Their brave Designs with the desirM Success : 
? Tis an unequal brutish Argument 
Always to judge the Cause by the Event ; 
Thus the unthinking giddy Multitude 
A suffering JESUS criminal conclude. 

Well 'tis enough, Heaven now crowns with Applause, 
And gives Protection to that righteous Cause ; 
Nay, did ordain that Spot to be the Scene, 
Where the Cause dy J d for't, to revive again. 
Great Nassau, favoured by the Powers above, 
(Their special care, and their peculiar Love), 
An Atlas to our sinking State does prove : 
Auspicious Stars on all his Councils smile, 
That breathe vast Blessings on our joyful Isle. 

And now methinks their Manes, who of late 
Fell worthy Martyrs of our bleeding State, 
Reproach us with Ingratitude, and say, 
' Is nothing due unto our murtherM Clay ? 
' Unto our murther'd Names is nothing due ? 

* Who sacrific'd both Lives and Names for you ? 

* Does no Tongue deign to move in the Defence 
i Of wounded Honour, and wronged Innocence? 
f If th' Alwise God (tho* just) dont yet see good 

' With swift Revenge t' appease our crying Blood, 

* Save us at least from Envy's darker Grave, 
' And let our Fame a Resurrection have.' 

Great Souls, too great for our inferiour Praise ! 
You for yourselves the Noblest Trophies raise ; 
Your Dying- Words your Monuments become, 
More bright, more lasting, than a Marble Tomb ; 
To future Times your Fames shall freshly bloom, 
And speak aloud till Envy finds no Room. By J. S. 




THE INTRODUCTION. 

OTHING can be plainer to any Man that is but 
moderately vers'd in History, than that upon any Turn of 
Affairs, whoever has won or lost, or whatever Party is 
uppermost, the great Enemy of Mankind has some Way 
or other advanced his own Interest, and got some 
plausible Argument for Atheism or Profaneness. And the Reason of it 
is evident, for those who are in the highest Stations, by a weakness 
incident to most, we might, perhaps, say all of Mankind, are apt 
immediately to conclude themselves the Beloved of Heaven, and that 
Providence favours only them, as it did the jfews, to the neglect, if not 
detriment of the rest of the World. But no sooner is the Wheel 
turn'd, and either by the inscrutable Providence of God, or the Wicked- 
ness of Men, or their own Male- Administration of Affairs, those who 
are uppermost thrown out of the Helm, to make Room for the next 
set of Governours, when those who ascend, take the same Notions with 
their Predecessors, while such as are gotten under, with all whom 
Interest or Guilt or Prejudice more closely united to the former Ad- 
ministration, grow discontented and uneasie ; and if their Designs and 
Expectations are more and more frustrated, morose and melancholy ; 
the more devout among 'em will be sure to call whoever suffer in Oppo- 
sition to the established Government, Heroes and Martyrs ; and be 
ever prophesying of some sudden Turn, and visible Appearance of 
Heaven to confound their Enemies. But the profane or hypocritical 
Party, which we may, without Breach of Charity suppose very large on 
all sides, very naturally run into the other extream : They'll fly out into 
frets and passions ; and because God does not think fit to govern the 
World according to their minds, impudently pronounce, That there is 
no God at all, That Religion's a meer Cheat, and Heaven and Hell 
but Priestcraft and Fable. 

But notwithstanding the Difference in Opinion, and all sides arro- 
gating as much as possible to themselves, there are yet hardly any Men 
to be found so senslesly sceptical, as to deny the Differences of Right 
or Wrong, Good and Evil. That it hugely alters the Case to consider, 
whether Opposition has been made against a lawful or unlawful Power ; 
whether the Means be legal or no, or the reasons sufficient to counter- 
vail all the Mischiefs that may arise from such Undertakings : Whether 
such as do it have any Right or Concern to warrant their Actions ; 
whether for or against, in Defence or Opposition to the laws of Nature 
and Nations : Whether those that suffer, meet with their Misfortunes 
in the discharge of their Duty, or opposing others in theirs. Or if the 



vi %f)t Jtttrotiuctiom 

Quarrel be Religion ; Whether that Religion on which it is grounded, 
be a False or a True one. And 'tis from the Examination of such Par- 
ticulars as these, whence 'twill appear, whether they are Patriots or 
Rebels, stubborn Enthusiasts, or holy Martyrs. 

Now as oft as the Iniquity of the Times encourages Vice, and de- 
presses Vertue, raises those who are content to be Slaves themselves, so 
they may but make others so, and trample on others, while they are 
kicked themselves ; while it industriously opposes the very Sparks 
of Ingenuity and Liberty, and takes off, as fast as possible, either by 
clandestine Plots, or open Cruelty, whoever dare be any Braver, or 
Better, or Honester than their Neighbours ; while Providence all the 
while seems to nod, and sit an unconcerned Spectator of the Ravage 
that's matle in the World ; then there's no little Danger, lest even those 
who are truly, though weakly, religious and vertuous, should yet be 
hurried away in the Stream of sour and melancholly Thoughts ; be 
tempted to think with the Royal Prophet, that all Things were carried 
cceco impetu, that they have cleansed their Heart in vain ; and be almost 
ready with him, to condemn the Generation of the Righteous. 

'Tis a Question whether ever any Age in the World gave more Advan- 
tage and Colour for these kind of Thoughts, than this last, wherein we 
have had the sad Experience of Debauchery and Villany rampant and 
triumphant, and to all Appearance, most prosperous and happy ; 
wherein 'twas much more dangerous, either to be distinguish ingly 
vertuous or to forsake Villany, than to continue in one and laugh at 
t'other ; when so many of the Flower of our Nobility and Gentry, 
either lost their Lives, or Estates, or Liberties, or Country ; whilst a 
Crew of Parisites triumphed and fluttered in their Ruins. To see a 
Russel die meanly and ignobly in the Flower of his Age ; an Essex, or a 
Godfrey sacrificed to the insatiable Ambition and Revenge of their 
Enemies, who yet not content with their Lives, would, like the Italian, 
stab on after Death ; and though they could not reach their Souls, 
endeavour to damn their Memories. These, and too many other such 
melancholy Instances would be ready to make a short-sighted Man ex- 
claim with Hercules in the Tragozdian, That Vertue is but an empty 
Name, or at least could only serve to make its Owners more sensibly 
unhappy. 

But although such Examples might a little work on a weaker Vertue ; 
that which is more confirmed and solid, can more easily resist it. 'Tis 
not impatient nor uneasie, but still believes that Heaven is awake, that 
the Iron Hands of Justice will at length overtake the Offenders, and by 
their Destruction vindicate the Honour and Innocence of those whom 
they have ruined. It considers any Riddles in Providence as a curious 
piece of Opticks, which, if judged of either before 'tis finished, or by 
Piece-meal, here an Eye, and there another distorted Feature, appears 
not only unpleasing, but really dreadful ; which yet, if viewed when 
'tis compleat, and taking all the Features together, makes a Figure 
sufficiently regular and lovely. 

Who almost could have imagined, without some such Reflections 
as these, that those brave Men we have seen for some Years pastpick'd 
out, and cut off one after another with as much Scandal and Obloquy 



Cije IntroDuctfan. vii 



as cou'd be thrown upon 'em by the ungenerous Malice of their Enemies ; 
when the very Attempt to clear their Reputation has been made almost 
Capital, and involved those who had Courage enough to attempt it 
in little less Mischief than what they themselves endured ; That ever 
these Phoenixes should rise again, and flourish in their Ashes ! That so 
many great Pens should already have done some of 'em Justice, and 
the World as much to all the rest ! And with how much more Joy, if 
'twere possible, would those Heroes have received their Crowns could 
they have foreseen their Deaths would have tended so far, to work up 
the Nation to such a just Resentment, as would at last have so great 
an Influence as we find it had, on our late glorious Deliverance. 

But since we have yet no form'd History of all those who have suf- 
fered under the Cruelty and Injustice, not to use so harsh a Word as 
Tyranny, of late Years ; since such a Design may be of no little Use, 
both to shew what our former Discords have cost us, and to vindicate 
the Memories of the Sufferers, as well from the Malice of their 
Enemies, as hasty Kindness of their Friends : And besides, to leave 
Posterity so many great Examples of those who preferred their Liberty 
and Religion before all else that was dear in the World ; and because 
they could not live free, died so. For such Reasons as these, this Work 
is undertaken, which, if it deserves the Acceptance of the Reader, no 
doubt will find it ; there being few good Books written which have 
not been favourably received in the World. 

If any be so weak to object, That the Subjects of this History are 
ill match'd, some of 'em being of one Communion, and some of another : 
It might be enough to send 'em to Fox's Martyrology for an Answer, 
(though some few Years since 'tis granted this Objection would have 
look'd more dreadful) where they may find Hooper and Ridley differing 
in their Opinions, but yet agreeing at the Stake, and accordingly ranged 
by that great Man in the same Noble Army. 

The Kindness and Gratitude of the Courts of England and Rome 
made no Distinction between 'em ; nay, not so much as to eat either of 
them last, but as Occasion served, took one or t'other. Fas est ab 

hoste and since they made no Difference in their Deaths, altho' they 

endeavour'd it as much as possible in their Lives ; since there's no 
Doubt there's none betwixt 'em now, but they all agree in Heaven : I 
. see no Reason why any Party should envy the other that Glory 
which for suffering in the same Cause, they so equally deserve. 

There has been formerly some Discourse about Town of a weak or 
malicious Design a foot, to publish an History of Persecutions, and 
charge it on one particular Party of Protestants : But as such a Thing 
would be most pernicious to the Common Cause, so God knows, if it 
should go round, it would be endless. This Design is quite contrary, 
as 'tis hoped its Effects will be. 'Tis to lay the Fault where it ought to 
be, and to make those Friends who have been too long impos'd upon, 
almost to each other's Ruin. 

Others may be offended with the Title of Martyrs and Martyrdom, 
which so often occurs in the following Paper ; both because some of 
those concerned were accused for Plots against the Government, and 
others were in actual Arms, But 'tis possible for a Person at the same 



viii die Intxotmctiom 

Time to be a Church and State Martyr. NabotWs Accusation was for 
speaking blasphemous Words against God . and the King. The 
Apostles of our Saviour, and the Christians afterwards, were accused as 
those who turned the World upside down, and Enemies of the Empire. 
These Answers, 'tis owned, may be accommodated to any Party, being 
general Things ; but in the Body of the Discourse we hope to fix 'em, 
and to prove in particular of the Persons mentioned, that they deserved 
that great Name, both on Account of the Cause, and their dyfng so 
unjustly, many Ways, from the Perjury of their Accusers, or the In- 
equality of their Judges, or Corruption of Juries ; and that really 
because they would not yield themselves, but made a vigorous Opposi- 
tion against Popery and Slavery. For the Western Martyrs, we intend 
a distinct Account of 'em at the Beginning of those Transactions. 

One Thing more that may choak such as have a Mind to quarrel, is 
the particular Faults, and in some, or at least, one Instance, vicious 
Habits, and ill Life of those to whom we give that high Character. 
But if little Failures, if Heats and Weaknesses were any valuable Ob- 
jection against the Worth or Honesty of a Person, 'twould be impos- 
sible to make any tolerable Defence, even for many of those great Men 
who were the happy Instruments of our Reformation : Tho' it may 
seem an Excuse dull and common, yet there's none who doth not find 
it necessary on his own Account, That Allowances are to be made for 
the best of Men. Cranmer, and the rest of our Reformers, as the 
Learned Dr. Burnet observes in his Letter to Mr. Thevenot, Tho' we 
piously believe 'em Saints and Martyrs, yet never pretended to be in- 
fallible : They were Men, and so were these, tho' they suffer'd for the 
same Causes, and almost in the same Manner. For such as liv'd ill, if 
there is more than one Instance, this certainly will be sufficient, that 
they died well, and gave all the Tokens of a hearty Repentance for 
their not having lived up to so good a Profession. 

Let us then do 'em Justice now they are dead, who so nobly de- 
fended the Cause of our holy Religion while they were living, and at 
last so freely and joyfully at their Death, sealed it with their dearest 
Blood. If in any Accounts met with here, some Person should find 
some particular Words or Phrases not so usual with 'em, let 'em not be 
so weak or unjust to condemn them as Cant or Nonsense. What 
Reason is there why every Man should not express himself in that Way 
which likes him best, and with which he has been most acquainted ? 
And what matters it if I'm discours'd to in a Yorkshire or a London 
Dialect, so I talk with an Honest Man, and our Sentiments agree, tho' 
our Words may a little differ? Especially when, as before was remark'd, 
all of 'em suffer'd for the same Cause, and with this considerable Cir- 
cumstance, that the first, and some of the last Victims of Popish Cruelty 
were entirely agreeable in their Judgments, as to the Manners and Merits 
of their Deaths, Sir Edmond-bury Godfrey, who begins the Rubrick, 
having notoriously declared some Days before his Death, That he be- 
lieved in his Conscience he should be the first Martyr : And some of 
those who went last to Glory, as will appear below, mentioning this as 
one of their greatest Comforts, That they should, in After- Ages, be 
enrolled among the rest of the Protestant Martyrs. 



THE 

Western MARTYROLOGY 



OR, THE 




-Bloody Assizes, &c. 

SIR EDMUND-BURY GODFREY. 



AD the Person who wrote that Scandalous Libel 
upon Sir E. B. G. which he calls The Mystery of 
his Death, but always confined himself to as much 
Truth and Reason as we met with in the very First 
Lines of his Preface to it, he might have gone both through the 
World and out of it, with more Reputation than now he is 
like to do — \There will (saith he) be a Time when Truth shall be 
believed and the Witnesses of it justified^ But notwithstanding 
all his boasted Sagacity in winding Alterations at such a 
Distance, we may safely affirm, that when he writ that Sentence, 
he little thought 'twould ever have been applied in this manner — 
That Truth would come to Life again after all the Care he had 
taken to stifle it, and the highest Judicatures in the Nation in 
One Day remove all the Black Dirt which so many Years he 
had been throwing on its Witnesses, and in so publick and 
authentick a Manner justifie 'em again. ; Twas in the Heat of 
those Mischiefs and Miseries, which all thinking Men cou'd long 
before easily foresee would be the Consequences of such 

B 



28 %^z aaie^terit S^art^roloo:^ 

INotions as he broached, and were too greedily swallow'd, that 
lie published the Book before mentioned, at such a Time when 
lie knew 'twas in One Sense unanswerable^ wherein he pretends 
>both to confound all the Evidence given in before the Parliament 
;and Publick Courts of Justice for Sir Edmonds being murthered 
with Papists ; and over and above — That he was a Self-murth'erer 
—No better than a Second running him through with his own 
.'Sword after his Death. 'Tis some plausible Insinuations he has 
rfchere heapt together which will make it necessary to be a little 
targer on him than those who came after ; especially since he led 
/the Way both to the Sufferings of the Protestants, and Malice of 
their Enemies. 

Sir Edmond-Bury Godfry, was born of a good Family ; his 

delations are sufficiently known, and as justly respected in 

tthe City of London: But 'tis not the intention of this Piece to 

write the Lives, but the Deaths of those who are the Subjects of 

it ; at least no more of one, than is requisite for describing the 

other. — The occasion of his Knighthood is reported to be the 

good Service he did in giving Directions for quenching a Fire 

which happened some Years past at St. James's; which Honour 

the then Duke of York obtain'd for him, having been under a 

great Consternation at the apprehension of the Danger. This 

very probably might be the beginning of his so great Intimacy 

•with the Papists, which Sir Roger so often hints in his History, 

and which afterwards cost him so dearly. 

He was a Person of known Vertues — For the Instances of his 

Secret Charity the World is obliged to that Reverend and 

.Learned Person who preach' d his Funeral Sermon. For his 

Piety and Integrity, even his worst Enemy here gives us several 

Instances thereof; that particularly, when after those Prophetic 

bodings of his approaching Martyrdom, he took care to settle all 

things, and adjust Accompts exactly, and even in Parish Matters 

to right such as he thought had formerly been injur'd. Lastly, 

how vigilant and' careful he was in the Execution of that Office 

<the Law had intrusted him with, his Death as well as his Life 

.may testify. — One thing cannot, without great Injury to his 

Memory, be omitted — 'Tis his extraordinary Conduct and 

• Courage in the time of the plague in this City, whence he never 

. stir'd all the while, it rag'd so dreadfully ; but reliev'd the Poor, 



»>ir (£&muiui*25urp dPo&frep* 3 

and fed them daily with his own Hands : Nor did he neglect 
Justice while he was exercising Mercy, but to the Amazement, 
and almost Terrour of the Beholders, Pursued a Malefactor, who 
had taken Sanctuary in a Pesthouse, thinking none wou'd be so 
desperate to follow him, and with his own Hands fetch' d him 
thence, when the other Officers dar'd not venture after him. 

'Twas either his Acquaintance among the Papists, before 
intimated, and hence his being consequently better known by 
those who were of that Party, or his industry and indefatigable 
care in the Discharge of his Office, or both, to which we may 
rationally attribute the addressing of the first Discovery of the 
Popish Plot to him, rather than any other. 

The clearest Method for the Description of his Martyrdom, 
will be first to enquire into the Occasion of it. And then the 
Manner, Circumstances, and Authors ; and lastly the several 
Endeavours that have been used to clear the Papists of that in- 
delible Guilt which sticks upon 'em from so horrid a Villany. 

For the occasion of his Martyrdom, what was said in the 
Summing up the Evidence concerning him, but modestly and on 
Supposition only, we may yet venture to affirm positively — 
This Protestant Magistrate was certainly 7nurder ) d— because he 
was a Protestant. 

But the particular and special Reasons were these following: 

1. He had taken Examinations about the Popish Plot, and 
those not only (as the Attorney- General said in the Trial of the 
Assassines) perhaps, but undoubtedly more than are now extant. 
Mr. Oates addressed himself to him with his Depositions — he 
had taken them, and enquired something closely into the Design, 
as his Manner was in any Thing which belonged to his Office. 
This the Papists very well knew, and therefore found it con- 
venient to be rid of a troublesom busie Man, who now he was 
engaged in the Business, was likely to pierce to the Bottom 
on't — and he being once out of the Way, the Evidence might very 
easily have been dispos'd of to their Satisfaction. 

But here those, whose Interest 'tis to get clear of such a Charge, 
object very pertly — What Need, or what Advantage, in taking 
off a Justice, when the same Things were deposed in other Places f 

2. The Second Reason or Occasion for this Murder will easily 
answer that Objection. They not only bore him Malice for 

B 2 



4 Wbt WLt&ttvn ^art^rolog:^ 

what he had already done in O cites* s Case, and might probably be 
ignorant of those secret passages transacted before King and 
Council, in Relation to Oates' s Depositions — but were sensible 
of a deeper Reason than all this, and which brought them into 
more Danger than the other. 

See it in the Lord Stafford's Trial, p. 22. and 24. Mr. Dugdale 
had received a Letter the very Night on which this Gentleman was 
martyrM (of which more anon) with these Words in't — [ This 
Night Sir~E. B. G. is dispatched.'] — This came from the Papists 
to Ewers, a Popish Priest at my Lord Aston' s, who, after he had 
read it, communicated the good News to Mr. Dugdale, telling 
him One of their Enemies was taken out of the Way. — He being 
desirous to know how Things went, ask'd what was the Reason 
they took away his Life ? Ewers tells him — Ihere was a Message 
sent to Mr. Coleman, when in Newgate to desire hi?n that he 
wotted not reveal any Thing of the Plot; which Message came from 
the Duke of York. — To which Coleman replied — What was he 
the nearer— for he had been so foolish as to reveal all to Sir 
E. B. G. already? But upon the Examination of Oates before Sir 
E. B. G. he was afraid he would come in as Evidence against him, 
having shewn himself eager in the Business. — To which the 
Duke of York sent Word again, — If he wou'd take Care not to 
reveal, but conceal it, Sir E. B. G. should not come in against 
him. — And the next News was — that he was dispatched. 

Now this effectually takes off the former Cavil ; and this Sir 
Roger cou'd not but be sensible of; and concluding so un- 
answerably against what he built so much upon, e'en lets it 
fairly drop, and mentions not a Syllable of it in all his Book. — 
Which Evidence of Mr. Dugdale's, is beyond Contradiction con- 
flrm'd by several Hints unluckily given in Sir Roger's own 
Depositions—^. 187. where Mr. Wynnel deposes Sir E. told 
him — Coleman wou'd die — and mention'd Consults about a 
Toleration — Adding further — That he was Master of a dangerous 
Secret that wou'd be fatal to him. — Hence nothing can be plainer 
to any reasonable Man, than that Sir Edmond was acquainted 
with Mr. Coleman as well as Dr. Oates, and knew even the 
minute Circumstances in those Letters which afterwards were 
brought against him, and stood in Fear of his Life for that 
very Reason, as for the same he afterwards lost it. 




One of the assassins threw a twisted handkerchief round his neck, and drew 
him behind the rails." — P 5. 



For the Manner of his Death, those who were Accomplices 
.herein shou'd best know it ; and the Objections against their 
Evidence the Reader may find cleared if hell take the Pains to 
look a little lower. — After the poor Gentleman had several Days 
been dog'd by the Papists, as Dr. Oates f Mr. Prance, and Mr. 
Bedlow, unanimously swear, and which he as good as ac- 
knowledged to Mr. Robinson , as appears on the Trial of his 
Murtherers, they at last accomplished their wicked Design on 
Saturday, Octob. 12. 1678. and under a Pretence of a Quarrel, 
which they knew his Care for the publick Peace wou'd oblige 
lim to prevent, about Nine at Night, as he was going Home, 
^ot him into the Water-Gate at Somerset-House. When he 
vas thus trapan'd in, and got out of Hearing from the Street, 
;oward the lower End of the Yard, Green, One of the Assassines, 
.hrew a twisted Handkerchief round his Neck, and drew him 
oehind the Rails, — which, notwithstanding his Age and Weak- 
less, are objected against its Probability ; taking him thus at a 
Surprize, and in the Dark, 'twas easie for him to do, especially 
Three or Four more of 'em immediately falling in to assist him, 
there they throtled him ; and lest that shou'd not be enough, 
punch'd and kickt him on the Breast, as sufficiently appear'd 
when his body was found, by the Marks upon it ; and lest he 
shou'd not be yet dead enough, another of 'em, Girald, or, as I 
and him called in other Places, Fitz-Girald, wou'd have run him 
through, but was hindered by the Rest, lest the Blood shou'd 
have discover' d 'em : But Green, to make sure Work, wrung his 
Neck round, as 'twas found afterwards on the Inspection of the 
Jurgeons. 

For the Disposal of the Body, they all carried it up into a little 
Chamber of Hills, another of the Murtherers, who had been, or 
was Dr. Godwins Man, where it lay till Monday Night, when 
they remov'd it into another Room, and thence back again till 
■Wednesday, when they carried him out in a Sedan about Twelve 
a Clock, and afterwards upon a Horse, with Hill behind him, to 
support him, till they got to Primrose Hill, or, as some say 'tis 
called, Green-Bury-Hill, near a Publick House, called the White 
House, and there threw him into a Ditch, with his Gloves and 
Cane on the Bank near him, and his own Sword run through him, 
-on Purpose to persuade the World he had kill'd himself. Very 



6 %ty SQiegtern S^artproiofi?* 

politkkly making Choice of a Place to lay him where they 
might both think he wou'd be sometime conceal'd, and near 
where he had been seen walking the same Day, if the Affidavits 
to this Purpose in Sr. Rs Book may be reposed upon. 

All this Mr. Prance swears upon the Trial of his Murtherers, 
with whom he acknowledges he had several Consults before at 
the Plow- Alehouse, and other Places, concerning it : Whdse 
Evidence is confirm'd, not only by innumerable other Circum- 
stances, but Mr. Bedlow s Confession, who was to have been 
present at the Action, had not Remorse of Conscience hinderd 
him, having been engaged by the Conspirators for a great 
Reward, and was afterwards to have a considerable Part of it 
for carrying off the Body, which he swears he saw in the very 
Room whither Prance says 'twas removed on the Monday Night. 
— But even here too he faird 'em — So 'twas done without his 
Assistance in the Manner before described. 

And very sure, no doubt, the great Plotters thought they had 
now made their Business : For we are not to fancy these little 
Villains attempted such an Action of their own Impulse ; the 
great Spring we had before in Dugdales Story of Coleman, from 
whence those large Sums must proceed which Bedlow mentions. 
Now, I say, they thought the Business was as sure as the Jews 
had made the Sepulchre — having seaPd all the Mouths of the 
Parties concerned, with Oaths and Sacraments, Solemnities com- 
monly abus'd by their Party to the foulest Villanies — But neither 
that, nor the Darkness of the Night, nor the Distance of Places, 
cou'd hinder the Divine Justice from looking through and dis- 
covering the Villains concern'd, and bringing 'em to Punishments 
worthy their Wickedness. — The Manner thus, — His body 
being found by some who accidentally walk'd that Way, and 
generally suspected from his former discourses, and many Pro- 
babilities, that he was murder'd by the Papists, the King issued 
out a Proclamation with a Promise of Indempnity and 500/. 
Reward to any who wou'd discover it. On this Mr. Bedlow writ 
a Letter to the Secretary from the Country, concerning his 
Knowledge of something considerable in that Matter; and being, 
sent for up to Town, reveaPd whate'er he knew of the Business. 
And a little after, Prance being accidentally seiz'd by a Constable 
and then in the House of Lords Lobby, was known by Mr. 



&fr (EtimtmluBurp (KoDfre^ 

Bedlow, having seen his Face on that Monday Night, when at 
the same Time they saw the Body ; and who on Examination 
discovered also what his Share was in the Murther : And tho' he 
afterwards denied it, for Fear of losing his Trade, and such other 
Motives, as he himself confest, yet in a Quarter of an Hour he 
returned again to his first Evidence. 

But the most difficult Task will be what yet remains — the* 
clearing those Objections, and some of 'em plausible Ones, andl 
which have led away too many well-meaning Men, against the 
Truth of this recited Evidence ; as well as some insinuations = 
spred abroad, and made the most of to persuade the World this 
worthy Gentleman was guilty of his own Death. 

But here it can't be expected that a private Person, who has- 
not the Advantages of Sir Roger, to have Warrants from Two- 
K's and all Persons and Papers before him relating to that 
Business, and who had Wit great, and Honesty little enough to- 
pick out, and leave in, what was for his Turn ; that such an one 
should be able to go through so many Hundred Pages as his 
Book consist of, and answer every Particular therein. 'Twill be 
Satisfaction enough to any rational Man to touch some of the 
Plots and Fetches made Use of from one Time to another to • 
wash the Blackamoor white, and clear the Papists from this • 
Villany : To answer the main Objections against the Evidence,., 
and bring some corroborating Circumstances for the Truth on't. 
And lastly, To shew Sir Edmond could not murther himself ii* 
that Place and Manner as is pretended. 

The first of the Methods they used to sham off this Murther^ 
was by early Reports they spred about, even before his Body 
was found, That he had kilVd himself. Now this Sir Roger 
himself can scarce have Brow enough to affirm 'twas done by the 
Brothers to save the Estate, since 'twas a very odd Way, certainly.,, 
to do that, by letting the World openly know that he was a Self- 
murtherer. That such Reports were spred, we shall by and by 
prove, and that from Sir Roger's own Book, without the Trouble^ 
of consulting the Paper-Office, — and who got by't, who shou'dL 
do't, whose Interest was't to do't, but the Papists, altho' the par- 
ticular Authors may be unknown ? 

Among the many Evidences of his Death, being known at so 
many distant Places before 'twas publick here, there are Two 



8 %%t Wlt&mn St^artprologp* 

come up exactly to the Matter in Hand. The First— which was 
recited by the Reverend Dean of Bangor, now Bishop of St. 
Asaph, in his Funeral Sermon, and which, it seems, he had of 
One Mr. Angus — who the same day Sir Edmorid was found 
about Five a Clock on Primrose Hill, being in Mr. Chiswells 
Shop in St. PauVs Church-yard about One or Two, there was 
a person unknown to him past by, and clapping him upon the 
Shoulder, ask'd him \If 'he heard the News that Sir E. B. G. was 
found dead, with his own Sword run through htm,'] 

The second is of Mr. Goldsborough, Clerk of the House of Com- 
mons, who being in a Barber's Shop on Tuesday Morning while 
he was missing, a person came in open-mouth'd [That SirY. B. G. 
was found;] and being ask'd where, reply'd, [He had killd 
himself upon Primrose-Hill ;] where upon Thursday following in 
the Evening the Body was indeed discovered. 

The Second considerable Attempt made the same Way, was by 
one Magrath an Irishman, the Famous Celiers, who foretold both 
the Prince of Wales, and a great many more after him ; the 
Jesuits in Newgate, and others, who pretended to prove Sir 
E. B. G. hang'd himself, and his Clerk Moor cut him down — But 
being examin'd at the Council- Board, it prov'd only a malicious 
and false Contrivance. 

'Twill be very well worth the while to remark that Mrs. Mary 
Gibbo7is was one of the Persons deeply engaged in this Design 
among so much other good Company; and that Mrs. Mary 
Gibbonsis one of the main Evidences Sir Roger makes use of in his 
Book — Tho' this Sham was then so thin laid, and this Person so 
well known, that even Farewell and Pain were asham'd to make 
Use of either in their letters to Pra?ice on this Subject, but 
protest very Solemnly, That none of those, neither Celiers, the 
Newgate Priests, nor Mrs. Mary Gibbons, or other Papists, or 
Popishly affected, knew any thing of the Matter, but were all 
Strangers to it. 

When this Contrivance was found out by all the World to be 
as very a Sham as Celiers' 's being with child in Newgate, or some 
Body else in another Place, yet was not the infatigable Zeal of 
that Party discouraged ; but Mr. Farewell, a person intrusted in 
managing the Estates and Lands of the Jesuits ; and Pain, 
Brother to the Famous Pain who wrote St. Coleman's Elegy, set 



feir (BomtmlulSurp (Bo&ftep* 9. 

a new Project on Foot to the same Purpose in some Letters 
sent to Prance, and Printed by N. Tho7nson; which indeed, if 
we look closely into 'em, will appear to be Sir Roger in little, 
there being the self-same Expressions in one as the t'other, and 
his Mystery seeming to be hardly more than their Letters spread 
a little thinner. — The Blood gubling out of the Wound — Bedlow's 
and Prance's East and West Contradictions, — The Wax dropt 
on his Cloaths after he was found, and several other Things the 
self-same in both of 'em. And I remember, at that very Time 
'twas shrewdly suspected and rumoured about Town, that the 
same Person lay behind the Curtain, and thrust their Cats-Feet 
into the Fire, who has since appeared publickly in Prosecution 
of the same Cause. 

Before their Trial they reckoned their Witnesses by the Hun- 
dred, pretending to make his Self-murther as clear as the Sun. 
When they came to it, and had all the fair Play imaginable, 
Pain's Heart ^ failed him, and he pleaded Guilty. — Farewell 
made so poor a Defence, and the Matter was so clearly proved 
against 'em, that Farewell and Thomson were both fined by the 
Court, and sentenced to stand in the Pillory, with this Inscription 
over them, [For Libelling the yustice of the Nation, by making 
the World believe that Sir E. B. G. murthered himselj 1] Where 
how abundantly they were honoured by the Spectators, all who 
know anything of the Story can't but remember. 

Thus it lay for some Time, and no Person was so hardy to 
make any farther Attempts that Way while there was any 
Possibility of having Justice against 'em : But when the Sheriffs, 
Juries, nay, King and all were changed; when that past which 
poor Oates and all the World have Cause to remember ; when, if 
Prance would not unconfess, he knew he must tread the same 
dolorous Way that Oates had gone before him and had now done 
all that could be desired ; then Sir Roger took up the Cudgels, 
and published his Book, called, [The Mystery of Sir E. B. G's 
Death itnfoldedj^ Or, which would have been a fitter Title, [The 
Second Edition with Additions ^Farewell's and Pain's Letters] 
The Main of what he advances there, will be answer'd in clear- 
ing, as was proposed, the Objections against the Evidence 
relating to that Matter. 

If the ill Character of the Persons who gave it be urged to in- 



io %fjt aaie^terrt S^artprolog;^ 

validate their Testimony, as this does not reach all of 'em, so it 
has been often answered — Who but such were fit for such Vil- 
lanies? If their seeming Disagreement in some Part of their 
Evidence, what greater Argument that 'twas no Combination ? 
If Prance retracted — we are told by Sir Roger himself, That he 
was a white-liver* d Man, and so might be frighted out of Trutji 
as well as into it. And indeed on that very Reason 'twas long 
before suspected, that if he should ever be bore hard upon, he 
would not be able to stand it. 

[But the Papists would never kill him, because he had obliged 
'em] — As if Gratitude was a Popish Virtue, or Charity, any more 
than Faith were to be kept with Hereticks : Those that think 
so let 'em look back, and see if the last Reign be enough to 
convince 'em. 

It may be urged on, Here are several Testimonies in the Trial 
of the Murtherers, and since, that invalidate the Evidence there 
given, — Warner and his Wife and Maid about Green — That he 
was at Home all that Evening when he was accused for com?nit- 
ing it, — 'Twould be enough to oppose to this, their Confession to 
Captain Richardson — That they could do him no good. — But 
besides this, Mr. Justice Dolbirts Observation on the Trial clears 
it effectually — They swore to the Saturday Fortnight after 
Michaelmass-Z?tfy, which was, says the Justice, the igth of 
Octob. not the 12th, on which the Murther was committed. 

If Broadstreet and others testifie they were in the Room where 
the Body was laid, and HilVs Wife so rubs up her Memory, that 
after so many Years she remembers what she could not upon 
his Trial — That she, and he, and their Child lay in the Room all 
that very Time when the Body was said to be there — 'Twould not 
be a Shift, but an Answer — That they were Papists that swore it, 
who can swear any Thing. But besides, Broadstreet acknow- 
ledged before the Duke of Monmouth, That Hill was gone from 
his Lodgings before this Time, as was proved on the Trial- 
Mrs. Tilden says, There was but One Key to their Door. Mrs. 
Broadstreet at the same Time, with what she own'd about Hill, 
That there were Six or Seven — Contradictions in others, we see, 
as well as the King's Evidence ; and these being much homer, 
and more irreconcileable than theirs, must of Necessity destroy 
the Belief of what else they testifie. 



But the Home-thrust is — [The Centinels saw no Sedan carried 
out — ] This the printed Trial easily sets right. The Centinels 
were Trollop and Wright. Trollop staid till Ten, and saw a 
Sedan go in, but none out again : Wright till One, but saw none 
go out. It must be in Trollop's Time, being as Prance says, 
about Twelve. — The Centinels being then at Burfs Lodge 
smoaking and drinking. Trollop says on the Trial, he was 
never at the Lodge, but so does not Wright, as any one may see 
by consulting it, he being never asked the Question. 

; Twill give a great Light into this Deed of Darkness in the 
next Place, to consider several circumstantial Evidences, which 
would, of themselves, go very far to prove that Sir E. B. G. was 
murthered by the Papists, and that in the very Place and Man- 
ner which has been already described. 

The First of these from Sir Edmond's own Mouth, which has 
been already hinted, but shall here be farther cleared. 

'Twas indeed so notorious, that Sir E. B. G. had boding 
Thoughts, and a Sort of a Prophetical Intimation of his Death* 
and that by the Papists ; and discoursed of so publickly and 
generally, that Sir Roger could not deny all the Matter of Fact, 
but endeavours to avoid the Force on't ; when he says, as is wit- 
nessed by several — [On my Conscience I shall be the First 
Martyr] This he interprets — [/ doubt I shant live long.] — Sure, 
though he says in one Place, The Man was no Fool, yet he must 
be supposed to be no better, any more than all the Readers, if 
neither he nor they made any Difference between being hanged 
and martyred. But the very Reason of this Interpretation was 
for what Sir R. dearly loved — That he might have Opportunity 
for a Reflection on the Parliament — He feared, says he, that the 
Parliament would call him to Account, and that nothing would 
salisfie 'em but his Life, for not discovering it sooner. — In Oppo- 
sition to this, any impartial Man need but consider what follows. 
Esquire Robinson, on the Trial of the Murderers, witnesses that 
he had a Discourse with Sir Edmond a little while before his 
Death about the Plot then newly talkt on — Says Robinson — / 
wish the Depth of the Matter be found out.— Sir E. answers, / 
am afraid it is not — Upon my Conscience I believe I shall be the 
First Martyr. — He acknowledged he had taken several Examin- 
ations about it, but thought he shou'd have little Thanks for his 



12 <n\}t ft&legtem i^artprolog;^ 

Pains. The Esq. askt him — Are you afraid? \_No, said he, / 
do not fear 'em, if they come fairly j and I shan't part with my 
Life tamely, .] Well, Sir Roger, Is all this the Parliament? Was 
he afraid the Parliament would send a Party to dog him, and 
set upon him ? And that he did not fear the Parliament, but if 
they came fairly, would not part with his Life tamely? — No ; any 
Man that has but half an Eye, unless that too blinded with Pre- 
judice, may see the Meaning on't; and that he apprehended 
Danger only from the Papists, against whom he had taken 
several Examinations. 

The next is of John Wilson the Sadler, who swears, Sir 
Edmond talking with one Mr. Harris, then told this Informant, 
[That he was in Danger for what he acted for the Discovering 
of the late Plot against his Majesty \] See how ingeniously this is 
answered — [His Apprehensio?i was from the Parliament, not the 
Papists; and for Concealing, not Discovering the Plot.] These 
very words Sir Poger has in his Book,/. 281. Now whether this 
is not a direct Statuimus, i. e. Abrogamus, What Sir Edmond 
calls Discovering, for Sir R. who knows his mind better, now he's 
dead, than he himself did while alive, to tell us he means Con- 
cealing, which is quite contrary — and how fair a Way of Answer 
'tis, let any of his best Friends be Judges. 

'Twould be tedious to bring any more, when this does effec- 
tually, as to his own Judgment. Only 'tis remarkable, that these 
very Things are sworn upon the Trial by Mr. Oates, — that Sir 
E. B. G. had told him — [He had received Affronts from great 
Persons for being so zealous in the Business — That he had been 
threatned — That he went in fear of his Life from the Popish 
Party j and that he had been dog'd several Days, — but feared 'em 
not if they came fairly to Work.'] 

For other Evidences of his Murther by the Papists, that which 
indeed made the greatest Noise, was, his Death being heard of 
so far off, and in so many different Places, before 'twas known in 
London. This, Sir Roger tells us, was on Purpose spred by the 
Brothers to throw it on the Papists: But here's this in Opposi- 
tion : Dugdale, against whom he makes no objection, but allows 
his Evidence, makes Oath in my Lord Stafford's Trial, and other 
Places, — That this News was brought to one Ewers, a Priest, 
in a Letter which he shewed him, dated the very Night 'twas 



done, — which had these Words in't — {This very Night Sir 
E. B. G. is dispatched.'] Now I'd fain ask — Had these Brothers 
Correspondence with the Priest? Would they use such a word 
as that [Dispatched? — ] Did they write to Ewers too, and bid 
him tell Dugdale, That this Sir E. B. G. was a busie Man and 
fit to be taken out of the Way ? — As Dugdale swears he did. — 
Could Dugdale conspire with Oates so long before they knew 
one another, and while he was himself a Prisoner in Stafford- 
shire f And where all those perjur'd who witness that Mr. 
Dugdale did report this before it could be known by any but the 
very Conspirators? 

That 'twas done in that very Place, at So?nerset-House, 
Providence has left strange Confirmation. 

The First is — Bury the Porter's refusing to admit any Persons 
into the Gates about that Time, the \2th, 13th, 14th of October. 
Nay, that he had denied the Prince himself Admittance (Prince 
Rupert, I suppose, it must be) and pretended Orders for so 
doing. But these Orders he never produced. — And more, like a 
true Papist, denied Matter of Fact when charged with it ; and 
tho' he had acknowledged to the Council he had never such 
Orders before, when Sir Thomas Stringer came to witness it, 
positively denied it. 

Two more very remarkable Affidavits there are, which give 
mighty Strength to all the former : One of Spence (Captain 
Spence he is called in some Copies) and the other of John 
Okeley. Spence was a tall, black Man, much like Sir E.B.G., 
as was witnessed by those who knew him ; to all which Sir R. 
only answers, — He has been told otherwise. This Spence passing 
by the same Water- Gate at Somerset-House about Seven at 
Night, Two Days before Sir Edmond's Murther, was drag'd in 
thither, being seized by Five or Six Men — but one of 'em, when 
they had him in, cry'd out — This is not he — on which they 
immediately let him go. — Here's a plain Evidence of their 
Intentions, and a Confirmation of what Bedlow, Oates, and 
Prance sware of Sir E's being dog'd so long before. — All thaf s 
answered to't is — That there was a Suit of Law depending 
between this Spence and Mr. Broadstreet — and therefore forsooth, 
he must forswear himself, and wilfully damn his Soul only for a 
circumstantial Evidence and Reflection on Hill himself Three 



14 ^§e WLtgmn ^artprolo^ 

or Four Years after he was hang'd, and so on his Master, Dr. 
Godden, and thence again on Mrs. Broadstreet j and all this 
when it had no Influence at all on the Suit of Law, or them who 
sued him. — But enough of this. — Let's now take Notice of the 
next. — Tis one John Okeley, who that very night, Octob. 12. 
going by Somerset-House, at the Water-Gate, about Nine a 
Clock, saw there Sir E. B. G. whom he knew very well, living 
in the same Lane with him — he past close by him, pulled off 
his Hat to«him, as Sir E. B. G. did to him again ; — when past 
him, he turned about, and looked on him. And this he told to 
several Persons, which witness the same. — To this, the main of 
what Sir B. objects is, — 'Twas dark, and how should he know 
him f Certainly, any one that knows London, cannot be igno- 
rant that we have Lights in the Streets at Nine at Night : And 
'twas morally impossible, that one who knew him so well, who 
looked upon him, who put off his Hat to him, as he to him again, 
and who after all this look'd back upon him — that such a one 
should be mistaken in the Person. 

The last Thing to be proved is — That Sir E. B. G. did not y 
and could not murder himself in that Place, as is pretended by 
his Enemies. He was first missing on Saturday, and therefore 
according to their Account, his Body must have been in the 
Place where 'twas found till that Thursday Night. But had it 
been there on Tuesday or Wednesday, the Pack of Hounds 
which hunted there, both of those Days, must have found him. 
Sir Roger tells us, — They might have been on the other side of 
the Ditch, or beat the Place carelessly without finding it. But 
Mr. Faucefs Deposition is, — That he beat that very Place — 
which sure he was capable of knowing, having been himself 
there to see it after the body was found. He repeats it, and 
says Twice, — 'Twas in that very Place, And Harwood says as 
much, who hunted the Day after. — One Circumstance there is, 
which makes this Evidence yet more conclusive. 'Twas deposed 
in the Trial of Farewell, and several other Places, that the Body 
stunk extreamly when 'twas found, which was but the next Day 
after. Now I'd ask any unprejudic'd Man, Whether 'twas so 
much as possible that this very Place should be beat Two Days 
after one another, and the Hounds not scent the Body, even 
tho' the Hunters might perhaps oversee it ? 



&fc c£DmunD=©urg (Botifre^ 15 

But besides this, there was yet a narrower Search made on 
another Occasion in that same Field. The Story is told in a 
Paper, call'd, An Account of the Murther, published by Thompson 
himself, who, with G. Larkin, another Printer, was present, and 
avouch ? d the Matter of Fact on their own Knowledge. 'Tis 
this, — That while the Body lay at the White- House, and the 
Jury were about it, one of the Jurymen themselves declared, — 
That a Servant of his Mother, a Butcher, and two Boys, made a 
very strict and narrow Search in all Parts of the Ground for a 
Calf that was lost there, and this both on Monday and Tues- 
day — and at that Time there lay no dead Body, Belt, Gloves, 
or any thing else there. — But were all these too on the wrong Side 
of the Hedge ? Or where did they look for this Calf, in the 
middle of the Field, or in the Ditches and Hedges, where 'twas 
impossible they could have mist of the Body, had it been 
there ? 

There's one great Objection which Sir Roger makes very 
much of in this matter — tho' not quite so strong now, as 
'twas some Years since ; and that is — There was no Popish 
Plot at all, therefore no Popish Murther, — which he expresses 
in his own peculiar Merry -Andrew Way — They hang both upon 
the same String, and whoever overthrows the one, trips up the 
Heels of the other. Nor indeed is he singular in his Opinion, as 
to a great Part of it — for my Lord Chief Justice Pemberton says, 
on the Trial of Farewell, I think, ; twas, — If they could have 
made it out that he had killed himself, all of theni would have 
cried out, the Popish Plot was a Sham raised by the Protestants 
against the Papist, and all the Plot must have gone for nothing. — 
But now to retort the Objection — If there was a Popish Plot, 'tis 
a terrible Argument that there was too a Popish Murther. But 
that there was one, we must be forced to believe, till we find 
these Things, among many others, answered. 

1. Coleman's Letters — and that Expression — The Extirpation 
of this Northern Heresie. 

2. The Letter produced in Harcourfs Trial, wherein the very 
Consult of April 24 is mentioned, — and A Design then on Foot 
among 'em, which they were to manage with all imaginable 
Secrecy. 

3. The positive Oaths of so many Men. Some of 'em of a 



16 ^Ije aaie0tem S^artgcolofi:^ 

fair Character and blameless Conversation ; others no more 
able to invent such a Plot, than their Enemies to disprove it. 

4. The Endeavours of the Papists to assassinate, disgrace, 
buy off, or any Way divert the Evidence against 'em ; which 
they were not such Fools to do for nothing. 

5. The Behavior of the Witnesses ever since. One of 'em 
testifying at his Death, after the Sacrament : Another by his 
Life, their Malice reaching to his Barbarous Murther. A third 
with his Blood, and so much as wou'd have perhaps cost any 
two or three other Men their Lives, to the Truth of their 
Depositions. 

And lastly, What Transactions we have felt and seen since 
King James came to his Throne, till his Departure, are no great 
evidence that all that Plot was a Forgery. 

From these Things 'tis plain there was a Popish Plot : From 
these, and what went before, that this was a Popish Murther. 

There needs no Exaggeration of the Fact, nor Tragical Ex- 
clamations. 'Twas as foul as Hell could make it, and perhaps 
we have not yet seen the full Revenge that Heaven intends for 
those who were concerned in it ; tho' 'tis after so long a Time 
miraculously begun, and will in due Time be accomplished. 

Two Anagrams there were made on this Brave Gentleman, 
which, for the peculiar Luckiness of 'em, it may not be ungrate- 
ful to the Reader, to have 'em inserted. 

SIR EDMUND-BURY GODFREY. 

A nag. 
I FIND MURDER'D BY ROGUES. 

Another. 
BY ROME'S RUDE FINGER DIE! 

Having thus vindicated the Memory of this great Person, 
without any mean Expectation, either of Applause or Reward, 
who was the First Martyr for our Holy Protestant Religion ; we 
shall address what has been written on this Subject, not only to 
Posterity, as Sir Roger very wisely does, where he shall never 



9£i\ antolD* 17 

hear his Fault, but to all the sober, unprejudiced Men of the 
present Age, and so dismiss it, and go on to the Rest for whom 
he only made Way, after we have presented you with one of the 
last Pieces of Wit the Age has yielded on Sir Edmond's Death. 
'Tis a Part of that ingenious Poem calFd Bacchanalia, or The 
Drunken Club, 

Well, Primrose! May our Godfreys Name on thee 

Like Hyacinth inscribed be ! 

On thee his Memory flourish still, 
Sweet as thy Flower, and lasting as thy Hill. 

Whilst blushing Somerset, to her 
Eternal Shame, shall this Inscription wear, 
" The Devil's an Ass, for Jesuits on this Spot 
" Broke both the Neck of Godfrey, and the Plot. 



MR. ARNOLD. 




UT though the Providence of God was pleas'd, no 
doubt for wise Reasons, to suffer this last worthy 
Person to fall a Victim to the Malice and Cruelty 
of our Popish Enemies ; tho' there was perhaps a 
Sort of a sad Necessity — that this One Man should die, to alarm 
a stupid Nation, and rouze 'em from that careless believing 
Temper which since that has gone] so far towards their Ruin ; 
and tho' 'twas to cost England more and nobler Blood, before 
its entire Deliverance ; yet the Government of the World is 
not so absolutely given up to the Disposal of him who is called 
the Prince of it, as that in every Attempt, Villany should be 
triumphant, and Vertue miserable. However kindly 'twas 
meant, the Stroak here was not home enough, and Mr. Arnold 
proved only a Confessor, tho' they intended him a Martyr. 
One would have thought their iHSuccess in taking off one 
Justice of Peace, should have cooled [their Fury a little and 
hinder'd 'em from venturing upon another. — But this 'tis when 
Men list themselves of a Religion where they must be given up 

C 



18 %%t aaiesstern Stpartprolog;^ 

to Salleys and Transports of a blind Zeal and refuse the Conduct 
either of their Senses or Reason. 

Mr. Arnold had been a vigorous Prosecutor of the Priests 
and Jesuits which sculkt about in his own Country of Wales. 
This was a Crime not to forgiven, nor any ways attoned for, by 
less than his Destruction. In Order to which he was assaulted 
by several Villains, fit for such a Business, in a little dark Lane 
near the Temple, as he was passing through it pretty late in the 
Evening ; and had no doubt dispatched him ; and either found 
some Way to make the World believe he had done it himself, 
as they would have done in the former Instance, or started some 
other Sham to have removed the Odium from their own Party. 
But the Gentleman, having had Apprehension of some such 
Accident, made better Use of it than Sir Edmond before him ; 
and having luckily a Suit of private Armour on, received several 
Stabs the Villains gave him, upon that, and so saved his Life. 
But they finding their Attempts that Way unsuccessful, were 
resolved to take another Course with him, and having got him 
down, with some desperate Weapon or other fit for the Purpose, 
made several Trials to cut his Throat, and gave him some 
dangerous Wounds about that Part ; which while he was 
strugling with them to preserve, a Boy providentially goes by 
with a Light, which their Deeds of Darkness not being able to 
endure, they all ran away, and left Mr. Arnold weltering in his 
Blood, who yet, by God's Providence, recovered again, and lived 
to see Justice done to one of the Villains that used him in that 
barbarous manner : His Name was Giles, and was discovered 
by a Wound in his Leg, which one of his Accomplices ran 
through in the Scuffle, as he was making a Stab at Mr. Arnold. 
He was tried for the Action, found guilty of it, and sentenced 
to stand in the Pillory for the same, which was accordingly 
executed, with a liberal Contribution over and above from the 
enraged Rabble, who sufficiently made up for the Gentleness of 
his Sentence, though as severe a one as our mild Laws could 
inflict upon such Offenders. 




19 



MR. COL LEDGE. 

O Body can doubt but that 'twas now very much 
the Interest of the Papists to get off, if possible, 
that foul Imputation of a Plot which stuck so deep 
upon 'em ; which had been confirmed by Sir 
Edmond's Murther, Coleman s never to be forgotten Letters,. 
A mold's Assassination, and a great deal of Collateral Evidence, 
which fell in unexpectedly, many of those who gave it being 
utterly unacquainted with the first Discoverers. After several 
unfortunate Attempts they had made to this Purpose ; after the 
Living had perjured themselves, and the Dying done worse, to* 
support their desperate Cause ; after Attempts to blast and 
mine some of the Evidence, and buy pothers of 'em, in both 
which, publick Justice took Notice of, and punished 'em : Being; 
of a Religion that sticks at no Villany to serve an Interest, and 
certainly the most indefatigable and firm People in the World r 
when they set about any Design, especially where Diana is 
concerned, not being yet discouraged, they resolved to venture 
upon one Project more, which proved but too successful, to the 
Loss of the Bravest and Best Blood in the Kingdom ; and that 
was to brand all those who were the steddiest Patriots, and so- 
their greatest Enemies, of what Rank soever they were, with the 
odious Character of Persons disaffected to the Government, or, in. 
the old Language, Enemies to Caesar: They pretended to* 
persuade the World, that after all this great Noise of a Popish 
Plot, 'twas only a Presbyterian one lay at the Bottom : This 
they had endeavoured in the Meal-Tub Intrigue, the Names of 
most of the worthy Persons in England being culPd out to be 
sworn into it: But this miscarrying (like the Mother on ; t r 
Mrs. Celliers Miscarriage in Newgate) they had by this time 
taken Breath, formed new Designs, and procured new 
Witnesses, which might do Business more effectually, and, tho' 
they could not write nor spell their Names, and so were not very 
well skilled in Book-learning, yet at Buke blawing they were 
admirable ; by which character you may easily guess they were 
Irishmen. Nor did they want Fools to believe, any more than 
Knaves to manage this Design ; by their continued unwearied 

C 2 



20 %ty aaie^tern S^artprolog;^ 

contrivances a great many easie, and some well-meaning People 
having by this Time been wrought upon to believe almost as 
implicitly as they themselves, whatever the Priests would have 
'em. One Thing, whatever happened, they were pretty sure of, 
That whether this Plot were believed or no, they should carry on 
their Intrigue by it: If 'twas, they had what they wished: If it 
should be discovered, 'twould yet confound and amuse Peoples 
Minds, and make 'em so sick of Plot upon Plot, that it might 
make 'em almost stagger in their Belief of the other. They had 
besides all this, a strong Party at Court to favour their Enter- 
prizes. The King was the Duke's, and the Duke — all the World 
know whose. 'Twas necessary to flesh their Blood-hounds by 
Degrees, to bring People on by little and little, to attempt some 
of inferior Rank for a Beginning, and not split the Cause for 
want of good Management. And who so fit as poor Colledge 
to be the First Victim of their Perjury and Malice ? By whose 
Death, besides being rid of a troublesome Fellow, and breaking 
the Ice to make Room for those to follow ; they might also 
expect this advantage, That the middle sort of People would be 
discouraged in their just Hatred of Popery and Papists, and 
Prosecution of the Laws against them. 

'Twas by such Methods as these that Mr. Colledge did signalize 
himself in the World. Being a Man of Courage, Industry, and 
Sharpness, he made it much of his Business to serve his Country 
as far as possible, in searching after Priests and Jesuits, and 
hunting those Vermin out of their lurking Holes, in which he 
was very serviceable and successful ; and for which, no doubt, 
they did not fail to remember him. The first Time we meet 
with him in public, is, I think, in Stafford's Trial, where he's 
brought in for Mr. Dugdale, as a Collateral Evidence. But 
by that Time the Wind was a little upon turning, and the Tide 
of popular Aversion not being so strong against Popery, being 
by the Cunning of our common Enemy diverted into little 
Streams, and private Factions; and Arbitrary Power driving on, 
as the best Way to prosecute the Designs of Rome; to which 
the City of London in a particular manner made a vigorous Re- 
sistance; which displeasing the grand Agitators, no Wonder 
they endeavoured, as much as possible, to do it a Mischief; 
their Kindness to it having been sufficiently experienced in 66. 



9£r* College* 21 

and even since. In Order to which the King was pleased, by 
the Advice of his Ghostly Brother ', to alter the common and 
almost constant Course of Parliaments, and call one at Oxford 
instead of London, Many of the Members whereof, and es- 
pecially those of London were apprehensive of some Design up- 
on 'em there, having formerly in the Gun-powder Treason, and 
ever since, sufficiently found the Love of the Papists to Protes- 
tant Parliaments, and knowing very well what they were to 
expect from their Kindness, if they should be attempted upon 
by 'em, and found defenceless. And more Ground of Suspicion 
they had, because, as Colledge protests in his Speech, there had 
been Affidavits judiciously made of a. formed Design against 'em, 
being besides removed away from the City of London, which 
had always so much of the English Blood in it, as heartily to 
love Parliaments, and for that Reason would have ventured all 
for their Defence. From these and such like Reasons 'twas, that 
several of the Parliament Men went accompanied with some of 
their Friends, well armed and accoutred, to Oxford, of which 
Number this Mr. Colledge was one, he waiting on my Lord Clare, 
Paget, and Huntington to Oxford; where the Parliament, fore- 
seeing what has since happened, would have gone on where they 
left off in former Sessions, which causing great Heats, every Body 
knows how abruptly they were dissolv'd not long after their 
meeting. 'Twas now grown the Entertainment of every Coffee- 
House, and the Subject of every Buffoon's Pamphlet to expose 
and vilifie Parliaments as much as possible, and the very Name 
of it was now grown as odious to some Men, as that of Protes- 
tant. Mr. Colledge had, besides all his other forementioned 
Crimes, been, as he declares in his Speech, a great Honourer of 
that August Assembly, and had been in former Sessions engaged 
by some of the Honourable Members to search the Places 
adjoining the Parliament-House, lest there should be a new 
Gun-powder Treason hatching for em ; from whence, as he says 
himself, he believes he got that popular Name of Protestant 
Joiner, 

All these Reasons together were more than enough to get 
him taken out of the Way ; and for the Performance thereof, 
Heins, Macnamarra, and one or two of the Apostate Evidence 
of the Popish Plot, informed against him. Nor is it a Wonder 



22 W$z mmttn ^artprolag;?. 

that after so many Attempts, some of those Men should be pre- 
vailed with to prove false ; but rather, that under so many Temp- 
cations any of 'em resisted, or were not sooner Villains. These 
Persons swore such Mad Things against him, of taking 
Whitehall, and pulling the King out of it, and such other odd 
wild Stories, that partly from the Improbability of the Matter, 
and partly from the ill Character of the Persons who witness'd it, 
the Jury here in London refused to find the Bill, but returned it 
Ignoramus. On which, contrary to all Justice, and President, 
and Law, and Common Reason, which forbids a Man should be 
\twice in Danger of his Life for the same Offence; the Business 
was removed to Oxford, where how little Civility or common 
Justice he met with in his Trial, was then notorious to all the 
World : a Person being check'd, for giving him but Assistance 
and Notes in the way of his Calling, to make his Defence when 
tiis Life was engaged: Yet tho ? even these Notes were denied 
trim, none that heard the Trial, or so much as read it, but must 
grant, that he made a very extraordinary Defence, and much 
more than could have been expected from a Man of more Learn- 
ing. But he might have spared all his Labour ; the Business 
was, no Doubt on't, resolved upon before, and he was found 
^Guilty, Sentenced, and Executed according to Order. To look 
iback once more, and enquire a little deeper into the very 
Original of the Matter: That there was a Design laid to bring in 
.most of the worthy Patriots of England into a Sham- Plot under 
the odious, scare-crow Name of Presbyterians, not only the Meal- 
Jul? Attempt, and several others of the same Batch, makes suffi- 
ciently appear ; but the late Essay of Fits-Harris above all the 
♦rest was enough to satisfie the most prejudiced Persons. He had 
conspired with some others to write a scandalous Libel against 
•the King, which was to be laid on such as they'd call Presbyteri- 
<ans, and this to be sent to their Houses, or conveyed into their 
Pockets, and there to be seiz'd, and the Persons prosecuted 
thereupon. This Business the Oxford Parliament had before 
'em, and began to smell out who set it on Foot ; and being re- 
solved to find the Bottom on't, lest he should be hanged up on 
tthe sudden to prevent his Confession, (he now beginning to melt a 
little) as Hubert, who fired London formerly, was, they impeached 
fiim, to keep the Examination of that Matter to themselves. 



'Tis to long too run over the Proceedings against him, and the 
Court-Parties subtle Contrivance, to Hang, Draw, and Quarter 
him, and so to hinder effectually his telling any more Tales. 
'Tis sufficient to observe, that this Design was prosecuted for 
several Years after, and poor CoUedge was to bear the Brunt on't, 
as has been already declared. 

If we reflect yet further on the manner of his Trial, and not 
look on to any others, one would be apt to think 'twas impossible 
a Man could be destroyed with more Injustice and Barbarity 
than he was, or that twelve Men who look like Christians, could 
be found out, who wou'd hang a Man upon such Evidence as 
was given against him. 

When a Criminal shall be kept close Prisoner in the Tower, 
without having sufficient Means to make his Defence till he 
come to his Trial : When, as has been said, he shall be rifled of 
his Notes, by which he could only save his Life, on which he 
depended, and that just before he came to his Trial ; though 
assisted therein by that very Council assigned by the Court for 
him : When he shall in vain demand ; em again, and call Heaven 
and Earth to witness, that he's meerly cheated of his Life for 
want of 'em : When all his Redress is such a frivolous Excuse, 
as not only a Judge, but any honest Man, would be ashamed to 
make Use of — Nay, such a Sort of a one as is commonly made 
before the Judges, but seldom by 'em — That 'twas somebody else 
did it, — That the Court, the Chief-Justice, had 'em not, nor did 
take 'em from him ; when the very Person stood by who rob'd 
him of 'em ; and yet he could have no Reparation : When the 
King's Council must whisper the Chief-Justice on the Bench, 
and the Court must be adjourned, on Purpose to examine those 
Minutes which the poor Man had got together to save his Life, 
and even from them get an Opportunity to take it away, 
altering the manner of their Prosecution, strengthning and 
bolstering their Evidence where they found it weak and contra- 
dictory : When all the Evidence against him, were not only such 
as an honest London Jury would not believe, though a Country 
one, directed by the King's Council, could make a shift to do it; 
but were every one of 'em, who witnessed any Thing material, 
confounded by such home Evidence, as, if any thing in the 
World could do it, did certainly invalidate and annul their 



24 %ty WLt&ttm ^artprologp* 

Testimonies: when one of them swears horridly, He cared not 
what he swore, nor whom he swore against, for 'twas his Trade 
to get Money by swearing. — That the Parliament were a Com- 
pany of Rogues for not giving the King Money, but he would 
help him to Money out of the Fanaticks Estates, which is ex- 
plained by what Smith says, — That if the Parliament would not 
give the King Money, but stood on the Bill of Exclusion, 'twas 
Pretence enough to swear a Design to seize the King at Oxford. 
When this same Heins very pleasantly says, 'Twas a Judgment 
upon the .King and the People, and the Irishmens swearing 
against 'em was justly fallen on y em y for outing the Irish of their 
Estates. When others of 'em swear, That since the Citizens de- 
serted 'em, they would not starve ; that they would have Colledge's 
Blood ; That tho' they had gone against their Consciences, 'twas 
because they had been persuaded to't and could get no Money 
else; and when they had said before they believed Co Hedge had 
no more Hand in any Conspiracy against his Majesty, than the 
child unborn j When they would have hired others to swear more 
into the same Plot; when the Bench was so just and kind 
Counsel for the Prisoner, as to tell the Jury, the King's Wit- 
nesses were on their Oaths, the Prisoner's not, and so one to be 
credited before the other ; in which Case 'tis impossible for any 
Man living to make a Defence against a perjured Villain. Lastly, 
When the Prisoner himself very weightily objected— That there 
was no proof of any Persons being concerned with him in the 
Design of seizing the King ; and 'twas wisely answered, — That 
he might be so vain as to design it alone — A thousand times 
more Romantick Improbability, than an Army's lying concealed 
at Knightsbridge, and of the same Stamp with Drawcansirs 
killing all on both sides. Taking all these Things together, 
hardly ever was a Man at this Rate banter' d out of his Life 
before any Judicature in the World, in any Place or Age that 
History has left us. 

Nor ought the great Service he did to the Nation in general 
to be ever forgotten ; since notwithstanding all the Disadvantages 
he was under, the publick Stream running so violently against 
him and his Witnesses and the Surprize which such strange 
Treatment, when he was on his Life, might cast him into, he 
yet made so strong a Defence, by shewing what Sort of Wit- 



9£i\ Colletige* 25 

nesses were brought against him, hindring them ever after from 
being believed, and thereby certainly saved many anothers Life, 
tho' he could not his own. 

Nor can the undaunted Courage, and firm Honesty of the 
Man be hardly ever enough admired. Since besides what he 
shewed in his Defence, after he was condemned,, as he himself 
said, as good as without a Trial, he boldly askt, When he was to 
be executed ? Without any the least seeming Concern. And tho' 
he had Time considerable before his Execution to consider 
on't, refused to save his Life so meanly as to make other 
innocent Mens the Price of his own ; without which Design 
they had hardly been so kind to have given him so long a 
Reprieve. 

As for his Behavior at his Execution : 'Twas such as 
convinced more than a few of his greatest Enemies, and made 
'em entertain a much better Opinion of him than before. From 
his Last Speech we shall remark several Passages as another 
Argument for his Innocency. But before we proceed any further 
in 'em, 'twill be needful to fix one Assertion, which we may 
presume few modest unprejudiced Persons will deny, and which 
we shall have Occasion to make further Use of. — 'Tis, — That a 
Protestant, who believes an Heaven and Hell, and is not a Man 
of no Principles, or Debauched and Atheistical, would go out 
of the World, into the Presence of that God who must judge 
him, with a lie in his Mouth. — This none will deny, but 
those who have a very great Kindness for the Papists j and yet 
of all Men in the World such as these must not offer to do it, 
— since 'twas the very Argument they made Use of for the 
Innocence of the Jesuits, and other Traytors. Though on that 
Side we know there are unanswerable Arguments not to believe 
them ; their Religion recommending Perjury, and all Sorts of 
Villanies to 'em as meritorious when Holy Church is concerned. 
Their Church besides allowing 'em Dispensations before, and 
Absolution after, and Purgatory at the worst, whence a few 
Masses would fetch them out again. — Things being thus, what 
can a Man of Modesty say to Mr. Colledges Protestations over 
and over, both in Prison, and at his Death, that he was perfectly 
innocent of what he died for? [/ did deny it then (says he, that is, 
before the Council) and do deny it upon my Death : I never was 



26 %ty aaiegtxm ^artgcolog;^ 

§ 

in any manner of Plot in my Days; nor if I had had any such 
Design as these have sworn against me, I take God to witness, 
as I am a dying Man, and on the Terms of my Salvation, I know 
not one Man upon the Face of the Earth which would have stood 
by me.] And lower, [/ knew not of any Part of what they swore 
against me \ till I heard it sworn at the Bar.] Again, [All the 
Arms we had was for our Defence, in Case the Papists shoitld 
have made any Attempt by way of Massacre, &*c. God is my 
Witness this is all I know.] And in his solemn Prayer, and 
some of his almost very last Words — ['Tis thee, O God, I trust 
in. — I disown all Dispensations, and will not go out of the 
World with a Lie in my Mouthy — And just after to the People, 
{From the Sincerity of my Heart, I declare again, that these are 
the very Sentiments of my Soul, as God shall have Mercy upon 
me.] 

Now upon the whole, Fd ask any sober Man, what he would 
answer to this, and how he can forbear, without the greatest 
Violation to all Principles of Good Nature and Inge?iuity to 
pronounce this Person innocent ? 

Thus died Mr. Colledge, whose Blood, as he himself desired 
it might, sufficiently spoke the Justice of his Cause, who seemed 
in his Speech to have some Prophetick Intimations, that his 
Blood would not be the last, as indeed it was not, but rather a 
Prelude to that which followed, the Edge of the Laws being 
now turned against all those who dared defend it. 

He has one Daughter yet living, whose Gratitude and 
Generosity to those who were kind to her under the Misfortunes 
of her Family, is at present the Wonder and Entertainment of 
the Court of England, and whose brave Soul speaks her the 
true Child of such a Father. 

For his Character, How great and undaunted his Courage 
was, both his Trial and Death testifie. He was very vigorous 
and earnest, almost to a Fault, in his Undertakings. But cer- 
tainly there are so few who err on that Hand, that we may with- 
out Flattery account this his warm Zeal for his Country, if it 
did a little exceed, a happy as well as very pardonable Error. 
He was extraordinary Ingenious in his own Trade, and employed 
amongst great Persons for his Dexterity therein. He had an 
entire Love for the City of London, and stood up for its Honour 



9®v. College. 27 

and Priviledges as highly as any Man living. He had a Soul 
so very great and generous, that many who knew him well, have 
said, considering his Education, they wondered how he came 
by it. He was a Man of very good sound Sense, considerably 
more than those of his Rank generally have, which he had 
much improved in his latter Time by Conversation with 
Persons of Honor and Quality. In fine, he lived sufficiently 
beloved by those who knew, and did not fear him ; and died 
lamented by his Friends, and admired and esteemed by his 
very Enemies. 

Some Time after his Death his Picture was sold about Town, 
which, as I remember, very much displeased the Observator. 
Under it were these Lines engraven, 

By Irish Oaths, and wrested Laws I fell, 

A Prey to Rome, a. Sacrifice to Hell. 

My guilty Blood for speedy Vengeance cries ; 

Heaven, hear and help, for Earth my Suit denies. 



Part of a Poem writ by Mr. Stephen Colledge, a while 
before he was sent to Oxford, where he suffered 
Death, Aug. 31. 1681. 

What if I am into a Prison cast, 

By Hellish Combination am betray'd? 
My Soul is free, although my Body's fast : 

Let them repent that have this Evil laid, 

And of Eternal Vengeance be afraid ; 

Though Racks and Gibbets can my Body kill, 

My God is with me, and I fear no 111. 

What boots the Clamours of the giddy Throng ? 
What Antidote's against a poisonous Breath ? 

What Fence is there against a Lying Tongue, 
Sharpened by Hell to wound a Man to Death ? 
Snakes, Vipers, Adders do look underneath : 
Say what you will, or never speak at all, 
Our very Prayers such Wretches Treason call. 



28 W$z aoie0tern S^autgrolos^ 

But Walls and Bars cannot a Prison make, 
The Free-born Soul enjoys its Liberty ; 

The Clods of Earth it may incaptivate, 

Whilst Heavenly Minds are conversant on high, 
Ranging the Fields of Blest Eternity : 
So let this Bird sing sweetly in my Breast, 
My Conscience clear, a Rush for all the Rest. 

And sure of this the World's so well aware. 
€ That here 'tis needless more for me to say, 

I must conclude, no time have I to spare, 
My winged Hours do fly too fast away, 
My (Work) Repentance must I not delay, 
I'll add my Prayers to God for England's Good ; 
And if he please will Seal them with my Blood. 




ARTHUR EARL OF ESSEX. 

HAT Party, and those Persons who were engaged to 
manage the Designs before-mentioned, were now 
entered on the most compendious Way of intro- 
ducing what they desired, as well as avoiding what 
their own Consciences, and all the World knew they deserved. 
Having those in their own Hands, who had the Executive Part 
of the Government in theirs ; and finding, no Doubt, a sort of 
malicious Pleasure, as well as Advantage, in destroying People 
by those Laws which were made to preserve 'em ; a Villany to 
be compared with nothing but the Treason of that Monster of 
a Priest, who gave the Emperor Poison in the Blessed Sacra- 
ment : Having wrought up the Nation, and all Parties there- 
in, to a high Ferment, making one Side mad for Slavery, as if 
they had all been at Constantinople as well as their Sheriff, and 
learnt the Doctrine of the Bow-string ; some of 'em treated, 
others cajoled, others frightned, and some few reasoned into 
the Belief of Absolute Authority in Kings, and Obedience 
Active as well as what is called Passive, to be paid to all their 



#rtljur d£art of €mx+ 29 

Commands. Some honest, several learned, more witty Men 
joining in with all their Power to advance the Transactions at 
that Time on the Wheel. And on the other Side, exasperating 
that Party who were more tenacious of their Liberties, as much 
as possible against the Constitution which they saw so horridly 
abused both in Church and State, persuading 'em all the Clergy 
were for making 'em Slaves, and themselves and the Court great 
to ride upon 'em ; whereas really it was only a Party, tho' too 
large, who made more Noise, tho' they had neither more Sense 
nor Number than those who differed from 'em ; and by this 
Means rendring many of the Trading Part of the Nation es- 
pecially, so dissatisfied with 'em, and eager against 'em, that 
they began to think they had Reason to fear as bad Effects 
thereof as they had experienced in the last Age, and so sided 
more closely with that Party whence they expected Protection. 
When Things were in this Posture, and a great many Persons 
either taken off from their Natural Love to a lawful Liberty \ 
which is so much of the very Nature of an Englishman; the 
Managers of the great Intrigue which was to accomplish our 
Ruin, resolved after they had begun with Colledge, to rise higher, 
and fly at a Nobler Game, and take off all those whom they 
could not win over, or against whom Interest or Revenge had 
more keenly engaged 'em, and who were most likely to make 
the most vigorous Opposition against their Attempts. But 
finding the London Juries unmoveably honest, and no Way 
to accomplish their Designs on these Persons, while their 
Witnesses would not be believed, and no Way to get Juries 
fit for their Turn, but by having Sheriffs of the same 
Stamp ; and finding the Party they had gotten, after all their 
Tricks, which many of those who then knew, are now ashamed 
of, visibly and fairly out-numbred by those who were not yet 
ripe for Slavery, they bethought themselves of one Way to rid 
themselves of that Inconveniency — which was by a Quo War- 
ranto against the City of London, that they might more effectually, 
and with less Noise, have what Sheriffs they pleased ; or in 
Effect, hang whomever they thought their Enemies, and not be 
forced almost to blush at those visible and sensible Illegalities 
with which they had forced those Officers upon the City. 

This they had accomplished in the Year 1683, when Judgment 



30 W$z Mt&ttvn 9£artprolog;p* 

was given against the Charter of London, whose Liberties had 
been confirmed to 'em by William the Conqueror, and delivered 
down before from Immemorial Ages, and this by two Judges 
only in Westminster-Hall, tho' the greatest Cause, one may ven- 
ture to say, that ever was legally tried therein. 

Now by this Time they had, after so many former fruitless 
Endeavours, brought something of a Plot to bear ; and with this 
Advantage above all their former, that there was really some- 
thing in't, altho', as Bays says in another Case, That Truth, 
which was notoriously blended with Lies and Perjuries. The 
Occasion of it we may best meet with in Hollow ay's most In- 
genuous Acknowment ; [By Arbitrary and Illegal Ways, and 
Force of Arms, they had got Sheriffs to their Mind, — Witnesses 
they had before, but wanted Jurors to believe them. Now they 
have got Sheriffs, who will find Jurors to believe any Evidence 
against a Protestant, and so hang up all the King's Friends by 
Degrees. — None being suffered to come near the King but those 
who have been declared Enemies to the King and Kingdom, who 
to save themselves, do endeavour to keep all Things from the 
Kings knowledge, and persuade him against Parliaments, dr^cJ] 

Thus much for the Occasion. The Design seems to be the 
same with what was intended at first, by many of those Great 
and Eminent Persons, both Clergy and Laity, in their late 
Appearance in Arms ; tho' by the Providence of God, for the 
Security of the Nation, and Reason of State, it has since been 
carried farther than theirs was ever to have been. [Seeing fair 
Means, says Holloway, would not do, but all Things on the Pro- 
testants Side misrepresented to the King by such great Criminals^ 
and none more in Favour than those, — To take the King from his 
evil Council, and that (as the late wonderful Turn was transacted, 
and as 'tis impossible to be otherwise in Business of so large a 
Concern, by a general Insurrection in several Parts of England 
at once.'] All those who have had any Share in the present 
Transactions, which are upon the Matter all the Nation, have 
shewn themselves plainly of the same Mind with those who 
were engaged in this, on which the Dispute runs, as to the 
Reason of the Thing, and the Principles on which they pro- 
ceeded — And their only Difference is about Matter of Fact, 
Whether Things were then at that Height as to need desperate 



jartfmr (£arl of (tttfttx. 31 

Remedies. If it be objected, That such Attempts are only 
glossy Pretences, vailed under the specious Name of the Publick 
Good — The Answer is as ready as the Objection, Is there any 
Difference between Reason and no Reason, Truth and Falshood? 
There is a Right, and a Wrong, — and if ever Liberties were in- 
vaded, and the Ends of Government vacated and annulled, 
never were the Foundations of such a Design plainer than on 
this Occasion — So that 'twas indeed, what was of it, a Counter- 
Plot, rather than a Plot against the Government and Laws of 
England, and that when no other Remedy could without a 
Miracle be expected. 

That this was the Heighth and Utmost of the then Design, 
and that no brave good Man need to be ashamed on't, I think 
all, or most Men are by this Time pretty well satisfied. But 
alas ! This would not serve the Turn of the Managers — Even this 
might not, or perhaps could not be, as certainly 'twas not, fairly 
proved against several, who suffered for it, This was a Thing so 
necessary and defensible, that there was Occasion of laying 
fouler Colours upon't, to fright and amuse the World, and let 
'em stand by patiently, and see their Best and Bravest Patriots 
sink, with much such Prudence and Wisdom as the sheep in the 
Fable suffered those bloody Mastiffs to be destroyed, who so 
often broke the Peace between them and the harmless Wolves ; 
and were afterwards in their Turns handsomely worried, and 
justly eaten up for their Reward. 'Twas convenient to make 
somewhat more of it — There must be an Assassination grafted on 
this Insurrection or else all would not be worth — an Halter : 
; Twas the Business and Interest of the Popish Party, to render 
their Enemies as odious as possible to the People, of whom, for 
their steddy Zeal and Love to their Religion and Liberties, they 
had long been the Darlings. To accomplish this, 'twas very 
necessary to get some Persons to insinuate into their Counsels, 
to inflame Things higher, to make black and odious Proposals 
of Assassinations, and Murders, and such bloody Villanies as 
alarm the good Nature of an Englishman with the very men- 
tioning of 'em. — Which yet some of the honester and wiser 
looking upon as mad hot Words only, or, if any more intended, 
having it in their power to prevent such Wickedness another 
Way, would not yet turn Informers nor ruin those Persons, who 



32 %$t aaiegtent fl^artprofoffp* 

in all Probability were only Trapans to ruin them. In all the 
Papers relating to this Matter, we shall find all Discourses of 
this Nature center'd in West and Rumsey. West was very much 
for Lopping Business — for killing 'em in their Calling — and was 
so full and eager for it. Though Walcot, Hollow ay, and all 
whoever heard it proposed received it still with the greatest 
Detestation imaginable, as a most base and bloody Action, 
which they never would have their own Hands imbrued in, nor 
their Posterity stained with. That all the great Persons, of 
Birth and Honour, were absolutely against so foul an Action, 
and abhorred it from their Souls, we may find, even without the 
forced Confession of their worst Enemies, by the Lord RusseTs 
Concern when such a Thing was muttered, and the Duke of 
Mo7tmotith , s Answer — God so — Kill the King ! I will never suffer 
it. The Account we have of it, is from him who should best 
know, and that's West, who in his discourse with Holloway on 
this Occasion, tells him of the New -market and Rye-house 
Design — That the King and the Duke were to be killed as they 
came by, for which they had provided Arms for Fifty Men — 
and were promised Runibald's House, which lay in the Road. 
When asked, Who was to act it — who were to fire these Arms 
for Fifty Men, — Pistols, Carbines, and Blunderbusses? He could 
name but two Men, Rumbald and his Brother ; who certainly 
must have been very dexterous to have discharged all those 
dreadfull Businesses themselves without Assistance, and is much 
such a likely Story as Colledge's being so vain to attempt 
seizing the King by himself, without any Assistance. 

But if even these two Brothers, who very likely were pickt out 
by the Evidence for the King-killers, merely for their hard 
Names, the very Sound of which would be as shrew'd an Argu- 
ment of their Guilt to Women and children, and with as much 
Justice, as some of the odd Names of the poor People in the 
West were made, at least a strong Presumption against 'em, and 
almost as moral as an Innuendo. If even these two were 
innocent of this horrid Business, who were the only Persons 
engaged therein, pray, What then becomes of the Assassination ? 
And won't Rumbald's Blunderbuss bear laughing at full as well 
as Pickering's Carbine or Screw-Gun, and chawed Bullets? 
But if there be any Thing solid in that Observation in Colledge 7 s 



#rtt)ur <t ari of cCjSjSejc^ 33 

Case, 7^#/ # Christian, and a Protestant, won't forswear 
himself when he is just going out of the Worldj if this fair 
Supposition may but be granted me, as I see not how it can be 
avoided, the Matter will be clear enough ; Rumbald himself in his 
Speech at his Execution in Scotland, absolutely disclaiming and 
denying any Hand in any such Design. See his Speech, and 
Answer to his Indictment — He desired all Present to believe the 
Words of a dying Man — as for having designed the King's Death, 
he never directly, nor indirectly, intended such a Villany ; That 
he abhorred the very Thoughts ont; and that he blessed God he 
had that Reputatio7i in the World, that he knew none had the 
Impudence to ask him the Question; and he detested the Thoughts 
of the Action, and hoped all good People would believe him? 
which was the only Way he had to clear himself; and he was 
sure that this Truth should one Day be manifest to all Men.] So 
at his Execution — I think it necessary to clear 7ny-self of some 
Aspersions laid on my Name; and first, that I should have had 
so horrid an Intention of destroying the King and his Brother^ 
Where he repeated what he had said to the Jury on the same 
Subject. 

The Sum is, — If any Assassination, it must have been from 
the Rumbalds : If not by them as has been proved, then not at all. 
If no Assassination in this Plot, then nothing is left of Malignity 
in it, but a lawful and laudable Opposition to the Breach and 
Ruin of our good Laws and Government ; and even that, as will 
be proved, not proved against most of those that by the Iniquity 
of the Times, suffered for the same. 

We have been forced to give this fair and impartial Scheme 
or Idea of that Design, which was at that Time represented so 
formidable and dreadful, before we could handsomely proceed to 
the Death of this Noble Lord, or those others that followed him ; 
and that as well from the Order of the History, as for his Vindi- 
cation. And as has been remarked, 'Twas necessary for that 
Party who managed our Ruin, that the forementioned Business 
of the Assassination should be believed, and nothing like a real 
one actually performed, to gain Credit to a feigned one only 
pretended : For what could be a greater Argument than there 
was some black Wickedness at the Bottom, some Sin of an 
extraordinary Stain, like the Murder of Princes, bearing too hard 

D 



34 "*3£&e aaiegfterrt a^artprologp* 

on his Conscience, that could possibly induce so great a Man to 
so unchristian an Attempt on his own Person? Hence they 
might, and no doubt did argue — Hence the very Rabble may 
easily reason — Certainly there was more in it than only just Con- 
sultations, and necessary Measures taken for the Publick Safety 
by the Peers of the Realm — by the King and Kingdom's 
best Friends, to deliver his Majesty from those Familiars that 
haunted him. There was more than this, and this Lord was 
conscious of it, or else certainly he had never acted what he has. 
Now this would effectually excite that Aversion which must 
necessarily follow from all honest Men, to a Party who cou'd be 
guilty of such horrid Designs. This must of Necessity, as 'in 
Effect it did, sway much with those Juries who were to sit upon 
the Lives of any accused or concerned in the same Business, had 
there not been more weighty Reasons to be produced below, 
towards the finding 'em guilty. Altho' 'tis certain, by their own 
Confession, the best Excuse they could make for innocent Blood 
particularly iu RusseVs Case, was that Confirmation they had to 
the Evidence sworn against 'em by Essex's Murder. Besides 
there might be a barbarous kind of a Pleasure, in opening this 
Plot with a Scene so like that which began the Popish one ; and 
that in all Probability, by the same Actors whose Hands were 
deep in the others. 

There was a Gentleman killed, which contributed very much 
towards the Credit of that Plot, tho' in another Way. Here 
must be one to undergo the same Fate for the same Reason. 
And both of 'em too pretendedly to kill themselves. — Just one 
as much as another. 

These Preliminaries being cleared, 'twill be now Time to come 
to the Person of this Noble Lord, his Family, and former 
manner of Life. 

Every one knows he was of the Illustrious Family of the Capels^ 
whose Father died for a Family, whence he deserved better 
Treatment for his Sake, and had received it, had he not fallen 
in the Hands of Popish Gratitude and Mercy ; which his 
Enemies knowing too well, and doubting the Sweetness of Tem- 
per, which all the World ever acknowledged in King Charles 
the Second, would not give him over to their publick Revenge ; 
in all Probability, resolved to take a shorter Course with him. 



arttmt; (Carl of (fcgtttx* 35 

He had been some Years before in the highest Place under the 
King in Ireland, and there behaved himself with that Wisdom 
and Candor, inseparable from all the Actions of his Life — and 
lived above Blame, though not above Envy : Being recalled 
thence unexpectedly, and dealt with not very handsomly ; 
which yet he bore with a Spirit like a Brave Man, and a 
Christian. 

My Lord of Essex was a Person, whom, 'twas no Doubt the 
highest Interest of the Popish Faction, to have gotten out of the 
Way, even tho' there had been no such extraordinary Reason 
as has been mentioned. He had large Interest, a plentiful Es- 
tate, a great deal of Courage, understood the World, and the 
Principles and Practices of the Papists, as well as any Man, 
having been of several Secret Committees in the Examination of 
the Plot, for which very Reason there was as much Necessity 
for his dying as Sir E. B. Godfrey's. He was, besides all this, 
they very well knew, of Inflexible Honesty, and so true a Great- 
ness of Mind, they could no more expect to gain him, than 
Heaven itself, to be on their Side. 

As for the immediate Subject of his Death, the Manner and 
Circumstances thereof, — It must first be granted, and a very 
reasonable Demand it is, that for the present only supposing he 
was murdered only by the Papists, they would, we may be Sure, 
make it their Business to render the Manner of it as dark as 
the Hell in which it was contrived. Murders, especially of that 
Magnitude, don't use to be committed in the Face of all the 
World, and at Noon-day. When Power is engaged in any 
Villany, when the same power is still continued or created, and 
can be easily exercised in taking out of the Way the Traitors, 
though it loves the Treason; and when so many years have 
intervened since the Fact ; 'tis no Wonder at all if Things are 
more in the Dark, than they would have been, had at that very 
Instant, Liberty been given to have enquired into it, which was 
so loudly and passionately demanded. But this we are yet 
certain of, tho' no more be yet publickly known in this Matter 
than what has formerly been Printed ; and there may be several 
Reasons, both of State and Decency, which may perhaps make 
it convenient that Things should always be as they are ; yet there 
are already such violent Probabilities, both that he was murthered, 

D 2 



36 %%t Wizmvn St^artprolog;^ 

and murthered by Papists ; and of the other Side, such at least 
next to Impossibilities, in his acting it himself, that as long as 
the World stands, no modest Man will be able either to get by 
'em or over 'em ; nor the most Impudent or Cunning, to out-face, 
or give them an Answer. 

For the Probability that he was murthered by Popish Con- 
trivement, besides those already named, Why they should do it? 
Here are these following Arguments, That they did it: Their 
Principles too openly known to be denied : Their practices in all 
Ages, and this present, — Sir E. B. G. the very Prototype of Essex, 
Arnold, all the pretended Legal Murders, all that has since 
happened — But if 'tis said, some Papists are better and braver 
than others, Let's come nearer. Would those that formerly 
burnt London j those who have since broke all the Obligations of 
Gratitude and good Nature, nay Publick Faith, and the most 
solemn Oaths which 'tis possible for a Man to take — Who, if the 
Testimonies of such as have confirmed it with their dying 
Breaths, and last Drop of Blood, may be credited, who have 
encouraged, hired, paid Men for Attempts to be made on the 
lives of their Nearest, and too tender Relations ; would such as 
these stick at a single Murther, a small Venial Villany, to 
advance their Cause, and merit Heaven into the Bargain? When 
Pretence of Justice, Necessity of Affairs, Reason of State, and so 
many more such Weights might be thrown into the Scales ? More 
then all this — When such Persons as these were actually in 
the Place where this Murther was committed, at the very Instant 
'twas done? All these together, with what is yet to follow, amount 
to as strong Arguments and pregnant Circumstances as the 
Nature of the Thing will bear, and mark out the Murtherers as 
plainly and visibly, as if they had come out of his Chamber with 
white Sleeves, and a long Knife in their Hands, bloody all over. 

And indeed there seems Need of little more than relating bare, 
simple, indubitable Matter of Fact, and such as hardly any Body 
will deny, to satisfie any cool rational Man in the Business. 

The Earl of Essex's Throat was cut in the Tower the \^th of 
July, about Eight or Nine in the Morning, at which Time the 
Duke of York, a bigotted Papist, his known bitter Enemy, was 
there present. This was reported at Andover, Sixty Miles from 
London, the nth oijuly, the first Day of his Imprisonment, and 



Zvfyuv (Kail of <tmx. 37 

as common Town-talk in every Body's Mouth, as Sir E. B. c7\y at 
the Time of his Murther, and told a Person travelling on the 
Road near the same Place, which was witnessed before, even a 
Jeffreys, in a Publick Court of Judicature. A Deputy Coroner 
present at the Inquest instead of a Legal one ; none of the 
Relations to attend the Inquest. The Body removed from the 
Place were 'twas first laid, stript, the Cloaths taken away, the 
Body and Rooms washed from the Blood, the Cloaths denied the 
View of the Jury. The principal Witnesses examined, only 
Bomeny his Man, and Russel his Warder, who might be so justly 
suspected of being privy to, if not Actors in it. That the Jury 
hastened and hurried the Verdict, when so Great a Man, a Peer 
of the Realm, and such a Peer was concerned, who was the King's 
Prisoner. When Sir Thomas Overbury had been before mur- 
thered in the Tower, and his Jury brought in an unrighteous 
Verdict ; whenever Sir E. B. Gs Jury, so much cried out against 
for all their ill Management, adjourned their Verdict, and staid 
considerably before they brought it in. This at a Time when 
the Lord Rttssel was to be tried for a Share in a Plot, in which 
the Earl was also accused of being concerned. One Branch of 
which Conspiracy, and which 'twas so much the Papists In- 
terest to have the Belief on't fixt, was a barbarous Murther of 
the Duke and King ; when nothing could so immediately and 
critically tend to that Noble Gentleman's Ruin ; when the News 
was instantly, with so much Diligence, convey' d from the Tower 
to the Sessions-House, Bench, Bar, and Jury, and harped upon 
by the Lord Howard just then, and by others in After-Trials, as 
more than a Thousand Witnesses, and the very Finger of God. 
After this the very Centinel, who that Day stood near the Place, 
found dead in the Tower-Ditch, and Captain Hazvley bar- 
barously murdered down at Rochester; and ill Methods us'd to 
prevent the Truth of all from coming to Light. Mr. Br addon 
harassed, prosecuted, jayled, and fined for stirring in it. On the 
fair and impartial Consideration but of these Things, hardly one 
of which but is notorious Matter of Fact, granted by all Sides — 
What can a Man conclude from the Whole, but whether he will 
or no — That this Noble Lord was certainly murthered by the 
Popish Party? 
But there is yet more Evidence, — If he could not murther him- 



38 %\)t MUgtern S^artprolog:?. 

self in that Manner, who then should do it but those on whom 
the Guilt of it has been justly charged? And this from the 
Manner of it. His Throat was cut from one Jugular to the other, 
and by the Aspera Arteria and Wind-pipe to the Vertebra of 
the Neck, both the Jugulars being throughly divided. How 
often has it been asked, and how impossible it should ever 
receive an Answer, — How could any living Man, after the 
prodigious Flux of Blood which must necessarily follow on the 
dividing one yugular t as well as all those strong Muscles which 
lye in the Way, how could he ever have Strength to go through, 
all round, and come to the other, without fainting? One could 
as soon believe the Story of the Pirate, who after his Head was 
cut off, ran the whole Length of his Ship ; or that of St. Dennis, 
which was, no Doubt, grafted on the other. 

Nor is it rendered less impossible from the Instrument with 
which those who did it would persuade the World 'twas per- 
formed by himself. A little French Razor. Had Bo?neny held 
to the Penknife, it had been much more likely. But here was 
nothing to rest or bear tipon in the cutting, it having no Tongue 
to hold it up in the Haft : And as 'tis observed in the Prints on 
that Subject, he must therefore, supposing he had done it himself, 
have held his Hand pretty far, upon the very Blade, and so with 
about two Inches aud a half 'of it whittle out a Wound of four 
Inches deep, and all round his Neck, as if he had intended to 
have been his own Heads7nan, as well as Executioner, out of 
Remorse of Conscience for his Treason. 

Lastly, His Character makes it morally impossible he should 
be guilty of so mean and little an Action. ? Tis for Women, and 
Eunuchs, and Lovers, and Romantick Heroes, to kill themselves; 
not Men of known Vertue, Temper, Wisdom, Piety, and Gravity ; 
who had formerly digested as great Affronts as could be put 
upon a Man, with a Candor and Calmness so worthy a Man and 
a Christain, who had been so far from defending so barbarous 
and unmanly a Thing as Self-murther, as is suggested, that he 
had rather express'd himself with Detestation concerning it. 

And as he ought not, and could not be hurried into so fatal an 
Action by a false mistaken Greatness of Mind; as no such Thing, 
or so much as the least Footsteps of it appeared in the whole 
Course of his Life ; so from all his Actions in the Tower before 



jartfjur (Carl of afeftfejt* 39 

his Death, we may fairly deduce the quite contrary to what his 
Enemies have asserted; and by observing his Conduct there, 
discover plainly that no such black Intention ever entered into 
his Mind. This appears from ordering his People to have his 
own Plate sent for out of the Country to dress his Meat, as well 
as a considerable Parcel of Wines bought and brought into the 
Tower for his Drinking, that he might not stand to the Courtesie of 
his Enemies; and this sufficient to last him till he could be 
delivered by due Course of Law. 

I can foresee but one Thing that can with the least Plausibility 
be objected to this considerable Passage ; and 'tis, That this was 
when he was first cotmnitted, before he fell ' melancholly , which he 
more eminently did when he heard my Lord Russel was to be 
tried, as being grieved and desperate for having brought so 
brave a Gentle?nan into such unhappy Circumstances, as Bomeny 
somewhere or other pretends to, on discoursing with him on that 
Particular. 

But there are two Answers which cut all the Sinews of this 
Objection : One, That this was the very Day before he was 
murdered, that he sent both for his Wine and Silver Vessels. 
Now Bomeny lays the Foundation of his Melancholly, and the 
Intention to be his own Destroyer, on the very first day he came 
into the Tower. For he says in his Deposition in Braddon's 
Trial, [That he had ordered his Servant two Days before to 
provide a Penknife for him, on Pretence of cutting his Nails, but 
with an Intent of committiiig that Fatal and Tragical A ct.~] The 
Thirteenth of July was the Day of his Martyrdom, two Days 
before then must be the Eleventh, the Day of his Commitment : 
But 'twas the intervening Day, the Twelfth of that Month, on 
which he took such Care to eat and drink safely : Whereas had 
there been any such Design in his Head, he would never have 
taken such Measures; and if he had had an Intention to amuse 
his People, that no such Thing might have been suspected, he 
might have taken other Ways, less troublesome and chargeable.. 

But what yet clears all the remaining Scruple, is his ordering 
his Gentleman to take Notes at my Lord RussePs Trial, appointing 
him how to manage himself for the effecting it, so calmly and or- 
derly, that he can't be suppos'd either disturbed, or desperate on 
Account of his own Guilt, or Russell's Unhappiness ; or to have 



40 %%t Wlz&mn 9£artj?roloffg* 

taken this Course with himself, as Jeffreys says in Braddoits 
Trial, to prevent Justice, tho' others did it with him, to prevent 
Mercy. 

One great Argument more ; That, which indeed when it hap- 
pened, did much alarm all thi7iking Men, and make 'em shrewdly 
suspect foul Play had been offered, was the ill Treatment those 
met with who dared but pry into those Arcana Imperii, and 
desire but in a legal Way that the Business might be reviewed, 
and searched to the Bottom. This was granted in the Case of 
poor Sir Edmund, many Years after his Death, and Commission 
given to enquire into it, to L' Estrange. — But 'tis confest there 
was a great deal of Difference. One, as 'twas managed, tending 
to root up all Belief of a Popish Plot: T'other, if it had been 
honestly examined, might have done as much in Reality to a 
Protestant one. The great Tenderness of some Persons in this 
Case, and their huge Aversion and Unwillingness to be touched 
thereabouts, made People more than suspect, that there was 
some Sore or other in the Case which would not endure it. Mr. 
Br addon had heard of a Boy, who being playing before Essex's 
Window that Morning saw a bloody Razor thrown out of the 
Window; he thought he should do the King Service to make a 
Discovery if any Injury had been offered to one of his Subjects ? 
especially so great and good a Person. He brings the Boy with 
him to my Lord Sunderland, and for his Reward is himself 
brought before the Council, severely reprimanded, and forced to 
give 2000 /. Bail to answer an Information for suborning the Boy 
to say what he did. Upon which, after a great many worse 
Vexations, which besides the Charge and Trouble, hindred also 
his Prosecution of the Business while 'twas yet fresh and warm: 
he was at last tried : The very words in the Indictment running, 
— For his procuring and suborning false Witnesses to prove that 
the Earl of Essex was not a Felon of himself, &c. Of which, 
according to Jeffrey's Law, and the Conscience oi the then Juries, 
he was found guilty, and fined for the same ; tho' not the least 
Syllable of Practice or Subornation prov'd against him : Tho' the 
Boy did himself acknowledge he had said those Things, as well 
as several Witnesses proved it : Tho' 'twas terribly suspicious 
that some Art had been afterwards used with the Boy to make 
him deny it; tho' Jeffreys stormed and raved after his usual 



jartljur (Karl of fl&tefejp. 41 

Manner, when Mr. Wallop did put such a Question, and would 
by no means have it be answered. 

But whatever this couragious honest Gentleman suffered from 
their Spite and Malice, he bore all with handsome, and truly 
English Resolution. As he before his Imprisonment, and since, 
was indefatigably diligent in getting up the Bottom of this foul 
Business ; all English7nen must own, he has deserved the Love 
and Honour of His country, who was not discouraged from 
acting even in the worst of Times, against a whole enraged 
Faction, where he had such firm and pregnant Circumstances on 
which to ground his Attempt ; tho' he could not but be sensible 
he must undergo all the Censures of his Friends, as forward and 
imprudent ; as well as all the Hate and Malice of his own and 
his Country's Enemies. He deserves a much fairer Commenda- 
tion than here can be given him ; but however, this was a just 
Debt due to his Courage and Honesty, when he alone durst 
undertake what all the World else was afraid of: Durst still 
continue firm to Honour and Conscience, and his first Resolu- 
tion, in Spite of Fines and Imprisonments, and has now outliv'd 
'em all, to carry on his first Undertakings ; whose Design therein 
is, no Doubt, just and generous, whatever the Event proves ; 
and although so much Dust may have, since it happened, been 
purposely thrown on the Action, that it may be now more 
Difficult, and perhaps unsuccessful to trace it, than 'twas before. 

His Character. 

It must be confessed, 'tis a bold and dangerous Thing to 
attempt the Character of one of the greatest men which our Age 
has produced, especially for one who had not the honour of any 
personal Intimacy with him. All that's to be done is from what 
has been already said, and what other Memoirs are left of him, 
to endeavour at something so like him, that any one who sees it, 
may say 'twas meant for the Picture of the Great ESSEX, how 
infinitely soever it must of Necessity be short of its Original. 

The first Thing then remarkable in him, and which alone 
would sufficiently distinguish him, is, That he was a Person of 
strict Morals, and severe Piety j and that in the midst of a 
Court and Age not very famous for either. Nor did this de- 
generate into Superstition or Weakness. He was a refined 



42 %ty SSlegtem S^atrtpcolog;^ 

Politician, without what some will say 'tis impossible to be so, 
and that's Dissimulation. When Affronts were offered him, he 
did not, as others, dissemble 'em, but, like himself, only scorn 
and conquer 'em ; even tho' of the highest Nature, and which 
generally pierce deepest into Persons of his Figure and Character. 
He was, as all the rest here commemorated, a firm Lover of his 
Country and Religion, the true Character of a true Englishman; 
and Engaged on their Sides against the then Duke of York, and 
other Ministers, not from any mean Pique or little discontented 
Humour/ which he has very much above, but meerly from the 
true Respect he had for 'em, and a Sense of that imminent 
Danger they were in, which his piercing Judgment and long 
Experience made him more sensible of, and his Courage and 
Vertue more concerned at, than others ; not only those who sat 
unconcerned Spectators, or shared in their Ruins ; but even the 
most of them who were engaged with him in the same Common 
Cause of their Defence and Preservation. Nothing of such an 
Impatience, or Eagerness, or black Melancholly could be dis- 
cerned in his Temper or Conversation, as is always the Symptom 
or Cause of such Tragical Ends, as his Enemies would persuade 
us he came to. 

Lastly, What may be said of most of the rest, does in a more 
especial and eminent Manner agree to the Illustrious ESSEX; 
and than which, nothing greater can be said of Mortality, He 
liv'd an Hero, and dfd a Martyr. 

Upon the Execrable Murther of the Right Honour- 
able Arthur Earl of Essex. 

Mortality would be too frail to hear 
How ESSEX fell, and not dissolve with Fear ; 
Did not more generous Rage take off the Blow, 
And by his Blood, the Steps to Vengeance show ? 

The Tow'r was for the Tragedy design'd ; 
And to be Slaughter'd he is first Confin'd : 
As fetter' d Victims to the Altar go. 
But why must Noble ESSEX perish so ? 
Why with such Fury drag'd into his Tomb, 
Murther'd by Slaves, and sacrific'd to Rome f 



&rtf)ur (fori of (£$$zx> 43 

By Stealth they kill, and with a secret Stroak, 
Silence that Voice which Charm'd whene'er it Spoke, 
The bleeding Orifice o'erflow'd the Ground, 
More like some mighty Deluge, than a Wound. 
Through the large Space his Blood and Vitals glide, 
And his whole Body might have past beside. 
The wreaking Crimson swell'd into a Flood, 
And stream'd a Second Time in CapeVs Blood. 
He's in his Son again to Death pursu'd, 
An Instance of the high's t Ingratitude. 
They then malicious Stratagem's imploy, 
With Life his dearer Honour to destroy ; 
And make his Fame extinguish with his Breath, 
And act beyond the Cruelties of Death. 
Here Murther is in all its Shapes compleat, 
As Lines united in their Center meet, 
Form'd by the blackest Politicks of Hell ; 
Was Cain so dev'lish when his Brother fell ? 

He that contrives, or his own Fate desires, 
Wants Courage, and for Fear of Death, expires : 
But Mighty ESSEX was in all Things Brave ; 
Neither to Hope, nor to Despair, a Slave. 
He had a Soul too Innocent and Great, 
To fear, or to anticipate his Fate : 
Yet their exalted Impudence and Guilt 
Charge on himself the precious Blood they spilt. 
So were the Protestants some Years ago 
Destroy'd in Ireland without a Foe. 
By their own barbarous Hands the Mad-men die ; 
And massacre themselves they know not why : 
Whilst the kind Irish howl to see the Gore, 
And pious Catholicks their Fate deplore. 
If you refuse to trust Erroneous Fame, 
Royal Mac-Ninny will confirm the same. 

We have lost more in Injured CapeVs Heir, 
Than the poor Bankrupt Age can e'er repair. 
Nature indulg'd him so, that there we saw 
All the choice Stroaks her steddy Hand could draw : 



44 %ty (Hilt0um fl^artjroloffi?* 

He the Old English Glory did revive, 
In him we had Plant agenets alive. 
Grandeur, and Fortune, and a vast renown 
Fit to support the Lustre of a Crown. 
All these in him were potently conjoin'd, 
But all was too ignoble for his Mind. 
Wisdom and Vertue, Properties Divine, 
Those, God-like ESSEX, were entirely thine. 

In his great Name he's still preserv'd alive, 
And will to all succeding Times survive. 
With just Progression, as the constant Sun 
Doth move, and through its bright E clip tick Run. 
For whilst his Dust does undistinguish'd lye, -\ 
And his blest Soul is soar'd above the Sky, > 
Fame shall below his parted Breath supply. ) 




WILLIAM LORD RUSSEL. 

HE next who fell under their Cruelty, and to whose 
Death Essex's was but a Prologue, was my Lord 
Russel; without all Dispute the finest Gentleman, 
one of 'em, that ever England bred ; and whose 
pious Life and Vertue is as much Treason against the Court, by 
affronting 'em with what was so much hated there, as any Thing 
else that was sworn against him. His Family was ancient, tho' 
not rais'd to the Honours it at present enjoys, till King Edward's 
Time, when John Russel, a Dorsetshire Gentleman, who had 
done many Services, and received many favours from the Crown, 
both in Henry the Seventh, and Henry the Eighth's Time, being 
by the latter made Lord High Admiral, and at his Death Lord 
High Steward of England, for the Solemnity of the Coronation; 
obtained such a Victory for his Young Master against his Rebels, 
as was rewarded with the Title of The Earl of Bedford. The 
Occasion of it thus — Idolatry and Superstition being now root- 
ing out by the Publick Authority, and Images every where 
pulling down, the Loyal Papists mutined, and one of their 



Miilliam 3Lor& 1&ug0eL 45 

Priests stabb'd a Commander of the King's, who was obeying 
his Orders, and Ten Thousand of the deluded Rabble rise in the 
Defence of that barbarous Action, and their old Mass and Holy- 
Water. Against whom this Fortunate Lord was sent with an 
Army, who routed 'em all, relieved Exeter, which they had 
besieged, and took their Gods, Banners, Crucifixes, and all the 
rest of their Trumpery, wherein the deluded Creatures trusted 
for Victory. Thus the Family of the Russels were early Enemies 
to the Romish Superstition, tho' this Brave Gentleman only paid 
the Scores of all his Ancestors. The Son and Heir of this John 
was Francis, second Earl of Bedford, who was as faithful to the 
Crown as his Father, an Enemy and Terror to the French, and 
a Friend to the Protestant Religion, as may appear by the 
Learned Books of Wickliff, which he collected, and at his Death 
bequeathed to a great Man, who he knew would make good Use 
of 'em. His Eldest Son, Willia7n Lord Russel, the late Duke 
of Bedford, is sufficiently known to every true Englishman, and 
his Person and Memory will be honoured by them as long as the 
World lasts. But 'tis accessary good Men should not be im- 
mortal — if they were, we should almost lose their Examples, it 
looking so like Flattery. But to do 'em Justice while they are 
living, with more Safety and less Censure, we may discourse of 
that Noble Gentleman, his Son and Name-sake William Lord 
Russel, who made so great a Figure in our Courts and Parlia- 
ments, before he was sacrificed to the Cruelty and Revenge of 
his Popish Enemies. If we'd find his first Offence, which lay 
behind the Scene, and was indeed the Cause of his Death, 
though other Colours were necessary to amuse the Publick, we 
must look some Years backward, as he himself does in his last 
Speech, wherein he tells the World, [He cannot but think his 
Earnestness in the Matter of the Exclusion, had no small 
Influence on his present Sufferings.] Being chosen Knight of 
the Shire for Bedfordshire, where the Evenness and Sweetness 
of his Behaviour, and his Virtuous Life, made him so well- 
beloved, that he'll never be forgotten. He began sooner than 
most others to see into that Danger we were in from Popery, 
and all those fatal Consequences which have since happened ; 
and described them as plainly as if he had more than the ordi- 
nary Inspection of a Prudent Man into Futurities. Thus in his 



46 %%t Wlt&tzvn 9£artptolo0;^ 

first Speech, on the Discovery of the Popish Plot in yS. he has 
these Words, [/ am of Opinion that the Life of our King, the 
Safety of our Country, and the Protestant Religion, are in great 
danger from Popery; and that either this Parliament must 
suppress the Power and Growth of Popery, or elso that Popery 
will soon destroy not only Parliaments, but all that is near and 
dear to us.] And lower, [/ humbly move, that we may reso'lve 
to take into our Consideration in the first Place, how to suppress 
Popery, and prevent a $op is& &ucce0£or, without which all our 
Endeavours about this Matter will not signifie any thing.] 
And how much he was in the Right as to all these Guesses, 
which then no doubt were nick-named Groundless and Factious 
Fears and Jealousies, all the World is now satisfied. Nothing 
can be more handsome than what he says on this Subject in his 
Last Speech, which gives the Reasons of his Acting at that Time, 
and being so earnest for the Bill, in which indeed is as fair a 
State of that great Question as we shall any where find in so 
little a Compass. [/ cannot, (says he) but give some Touch 
about the Bill of Exclusion, and shew the Reasons of my appear- 
ing in that Business, which in short is this : That I thought the 
Nation was in such Danger of Popery, and that the Expectation 
of a Popish Successor (as I have said in Parlia?nent) put the 
Sting's %ift also in such Danger, that I saw no Way so effectual 
to secure both, as such a Bill. As to the Limitations which were 
proposed, if they were sincerely offered, and had past into a Law, 
the Dicke then would have been excluded fro7n the Power of a 
King, and the Government quite altered, and little more than the 
Name of a King left: So L could not see either Sin or Fault in 
the one, when all People were willing to admit of the other; but 
thought it better to have a King with his Prerogative, and the 
Nation easie and safe under hij?i, than a King without it, which 
must have bred perpetual Jealousies, and continual Struggled] 
Thus far that Noble Lord, with whom concurred at that time 
very many great and good Men, as true Lovers of the Regulated 
Monarchy of England, as of the Protestant Religion ; and in- 
deed all were at that Time unanimous in the House of Commons, 
and other Places, except some honest Men, who despaired of 
obtaining his Exclusion ; Others who strained their Charity 
almost as far as Origen, who hoped well even of the Devil, and 



aaitlltam Horti BuggfeL 47 

they came not far short, believing a Papist would be honest or 
grateful. Some who were indifferent — Their private Obliga- 
tions to the Duke byassing their Judgments too much on his 
Side. Others fearful that the contrary Tide ran so strong, they 
could have no Safety but under his Protection — and perhaps 
more than all these, others, who fairly bought and sold their 
Religion and Liberties — the Blood and Souls of themselves and 
honester Men ; whom 'tis not doubted but our Chronicles will 
mark as long as our Nation has any in't that can but write them- 
selves, or read what others have written. 

The Reader will pardon this little Digression, and go on with 
me to remark some strange Expressions in another Speech of 
his. ? Twas on a Debate in the House for Money to be given for 
the Relief of Tangier. [Doth not (says he) the Duke's interest 
indanger the $ ing '£ % ife ? And are not our Lives and Fortunes 
in Danger to be snatched up by his Power? — And shall we yet 
make him stronger by putting Money into his Hands f] And a 
little lower [ When his Majesty shall be pleased to free us from 
the Danger of a Popish Successor, and remove from his Council, 
and Places of Trust, all those who are for his Interest, because 
there can be no distinction made between the Duke's Interest and 
the Popish — Then I shall conclude, what Money we shall give, 
will be disposed of according to his Majesty's own Royal Plea- 
sure, and for the true Protestant Interest, and I shall be ready 
to give, even all that I have in the World, if his Majesty shall 
have Occasion for it.} I have been the larger in this, to unde- 
ceive the World as to that clamouring against those Parliaments 
for not giving the King Money, the true Reason of which we 
may here plainly perceive. 

But there is one Passage so very remarkable, and I know not 
how to call it less than Prophetical, in the Beginning of this 
same Speech, that it must by no means be omitted, 'tis as fol- 
lows. [If ever there should happen in this Nation any such 
Change, that I should not have Liberty to live a Protestant, / 
a7n resolved to die one.] And I think he was as good as his 
Word — For being markt out, and among others, appointed for 
the Slaughter, he was taken up and imprisoned for that End 
and Purpose in the Tower, and brought to his Trial above all 
Days in the Year, on Essex's Day, the i^th of July, 1683. He 



48 W$t aflJegtern 9£artpcolog;^ 

was brought to the Old Baily, and the same Morning tried for 
High Treason. He earnestly desired he might have Respite, 
and might not be tried that Day, since he had some Witnesses 
that could not be in Town till the Night ; nay, they were in such 
Post-haste, and so hot a Scent for his Blood, that on his earnest 
Desire, they would not stay so much as till the Afternoon, pre- 
tending 'twas against President, and they could not do it witnout 
the Attorney- General's Consent ; tho' 'tis notorious, that both 
Plunket, the titular Irish Primate, and Fitz-Harris, before 
spoken of, were both of them tried a whole Term after they were 
arraign'd ; tho' in both Cases the Attorney oppos'd it ; and even 
here in the Case of Treason, at the Old Baily too, Whitebread's 
Trial was put off to another Sessions. If 'tis pleaded, the Case 
is different, and that there was Reason for the one, but not for 
the other : 'Twill be readily granted, — Tho' my Lord's Evidence 
were not ready, theirs was — They had concerted Business 
better, and just at that Time News was brought hot into the 
House, that my Lord of Essex had this Morning prevented 
Justice, as has been before remarked in the Story of Essex j as 
also, That several of the Jury had said, They had never found 
Russel guilty, had it not been for that Accident. And indeed, 
were that all in the Case, there would be still Room for a great 
deal of Charity : For though that was no proper Evidence 
against the Prisoner, yet very few Persons in the World, per- 
haps, could have been found whose Minds would have been so 
firm, and Reason so clear, as not to be, whether they would or 
no, hinged and by ass' d by such a sudden Report as this brought 
in among 'em, when they had no Time to consider calmly of the 
Matter ; and this, no doubt, was very well known by those who 
ordered Things in the manner before noted. But I say, 'twere 
to be wished, for the Honour of the English nation, that this 
had been all the foul Play in the Case, and that there had not been 
so many Thousand Guinea's imployed in this and other Trials, 
as the great Agitators thereof have lately confessed to have been. 
The Names of his Jury, as I find them in Print, are as follow: 

John Martyn. Thomas Short. Thomas Jeve. 

William Rouse. George Toriano. Hugh Noden. 

Jervas Seaton. William Butler. Robert Brough. 

William Fashion. James Pickering. Thomas Omeby. 



William JLovU tefgeU 49 

When he found he must expect neither Favour nor Justice, 
as to the delaying of his Trial, he excepted against the Fore- 
man of the Jury, because not a Freeholder j which for divers 
and sundry Reasons, almost, if not all the Judges, having the 
Happiness to light on different ones, and scarce any Two of the 
same, was over-ruled, and given against him ; though that same 
Practice since declared and acknowledged one of the great Griev- 
ances of the Nation. His Indictment ran in these words, {He 
did conspire and compass our Lord the King, his Supre7ne Lord, 
not only of his Kingly State, Title, Power, and Government of 
this his Kingdom of England to deprive and throw down; but 
also our said Sovereign Lord the King to kill, and to Death to 
bring and put, and the ancient Government of this Kingdom of 
England to change, alter, and wholly subvert, and a miserable 
Slaughter among the Subjects of our said Lord the King, through 
his whole Kingdo?n of England to cause and procure, and In- 
surrection and Rebellion against our said Lord the King to move, 
procure, and stir up within this ; Kingdom of England.] And 
lower, [He and divers others did consult, agree, and conclude 
Insurrection and Rebellion against our Sovereign Lord the 
King, to move and stir up, and the Guards for the Preservation 
of the Person of our said Sovereign Lord the King, to seize 
and destroy^ 

Now that all this was not intended as Matter of Form only, 
we may see by the King's CounciPs opening the Evidence. The 
first says — [He was indicted for no less than conspiring the 
Death of the King's Majesty; and that in Order to the same, he 
and others did meet and conspire together, to bring our Sove- 
reign Lord the King to Death, to raise War and Rebellion against 
him, and to' Massacre his Subjects — And in Order to compass 
these wicked Designs, being assembled, did conspire to seize the 
King's Guards, and his Majesty's Person : And this (he tells 
the Jury) is the Charge against him. 

The Attorney-General melts it a little lower, and tells 'em the 
Meaning of all these Tragical Words, were A consult about a 
Rising — about seizing the Guards, and receiving Messages from 
E. of Shafstsbury concerning an Insurrection. 

Nor yet does the Proof against him come up so high even as 
this, though all Care was used for that Purpose, and kind Ques- 

E 



50 %%t aaiegfterrt fl^actprolofl:?* 

tions put very frequently, to lead and drive the Evidence ; but 
one of them witnessing to any one Point. 

The first of whom was Col. Rumsey, who swears, That he was 
sent with a Message from Shaftsbury, who lay concealed at 
Wapping, to meet Lord Russel, Ferguson, fa^c, at Shepherd's, to 
know of the7n what Resolution they were co7tie to about t the 
Rising designed at Taunton — That when he came thither ', the 
Answer was made, Mr. Trenchard had failed 'em, and no more 
would be done in that Business at that Time. That Mr. Fer- 
guson spoke the ?nost part of that Answer; but my Lord 
Russel was present, and that he did speak about the Rising of 
Taunton, and consented to it. That the Company was dis- 
coursing also of viewing the Guards, in order to surprise 'em, if 
the Rising had gone on; and that some undertook to view 'em; 
and that the Lord Russel was by, when this was undertaken^ 
But this being the main Hinge of the Business, and this Wit- 
ness not yet coming up to the Purpose, they thought it conveni- 
ent to give him a Jog, to refresh his Memory, asking him, 
[Whether he found my Lord Russel averse, or agreeing to it ?] 
Who, no doubt, answered, Agreeing. But being afterwards in 
the Trial asked, Whether he could swear positively that my 
Lord Russel heard the Message, and gave any Answer to it ? 
All that he says is this, [That when he came in, they were at the 
Fire-side, but they all came from the Fire-side to hear what he 
said.] 

All that Shepherd witnesses, is, That my Lord Russel, &c. being 
at his House, there was a Discourse of surprizing the King's 
Guards ; and Sir Thomas Armstrong having viewed them 
when he came thither another Time, said, They were remiss, 
and the Thing was feizible, if there were Strength to do it, and 
that (upon his being questioned too, as Rumsey before him) 
whether my Lord Russel was there ? He says, He was, at that 
Time they discoursed of seizing the Guards. 

The next Witness was the florid Lord Howard, who very 
artificially begins low, being, forsooth, so terribly surprized with 
my Lord of Essex's Death, that his Voice failed him, till the 
Lord Chief Justice told him the Jury could not hear him ; in 
which very Moment his Voice returned again, and he told the 
Reason why he spoke no louder. After a long Harangue of 



ffliilliam %ovb KuggeL 51 

Tropes and fine Words, and dismal General Stories, by which, as 
my Lord complains, the Jury were prepossessed against him, 
he at last makes his Evidence bear directly upon the Point for 
which he came thither — And swears, [That after my Lord 
Shaftsbury went away, their Party resolved still to carry on the 
Design of the Insurrection without him ; for the better Manage- 
ment whereof they erected a little Cabal among themselves, 
which did consist of Six Persons, whereof my Lord Russel and 
himself were Two ; that they met for that Purpose at Mr. Hamb- 
den's House, and there adjusted the Place and Manner of the 
intended Insurrection : That about Ten Days after they had 
another Meeting on the same Business at my Lord RusseVs, 
where they resolved to send some Persons to engage Argyle 
and the Scots in the Design — and (being asked too) that he was 
sure my Lord Russel was there.] Being asked whether he said 
anything, he answered, [That every one knew him to be a Person 
of great Judgment, and not very lavish of Discourse.] Being 
again goaded on by Jeffreys with a — But did he consent / [We 
did (says he) put it to the Vote, it went without Contradic- 
tion, and / took it that all there gave their Consent.] 

West swears. That Ferguson and Col. Rumsey told him, 
That my Lord Russel intended to go down and take his Post in 
the West, when Mr. Trenchard had failed 'em. Whose hear- 
say Evidence being not encouraged, Jeffreys ends very prettily, 
telling the Court, they would not use any Thing of Garniture, 
but leave it as it was. 

As for Rmnsey the first Witness : As for his Person — My 
Lord Candish proved on the Trial,- that my Lord Russel had a 
very ill Opinion of him, and therefore 'twas not likely he would 
entrust him with such a Secret. 

As to his Evidence, squeezed out of him, as it was, in both 
Brances of the Design, seizing the Guards, and the Rising of 
Taunton, he says in gross and general, That he was agreeing to 
one, and spoke about, and consented to the other. For his agree- 
ing to the seizing the Guards, he might think, as the Lord 
Howard does after, that Silence gives Consent; for it appears 
not, nor does he swear, that my Lord spoke one Word about it. 
But he himself, in his last Speech, which was not a Jesuit's, and 
which we have all the Reason in the World to believe exactly 

E 2 



52 %\)t Mmtvn 9t£artprolog;^ 

true, since, as he himself says in it, \He always detested Lying, 
the? never so much for his Advantage ; and hoped none would 
be so unjust, or uncharitable, to think he'd venture on it in these 
his last Words, for which he was so soon going to give an Ac- 
count to the Great God, the Searcher of Hearts, and Judge of 
all Things :.] In this last Speech he protests, that at this Time 
of which Rtimsey swears, there was no ttndertaking of securing 
and seizing the Guards, nor none appointed to view or examine 
them, only some Discourse there was of the Feasibleness of it : 
He had' heard it mentioned as a Thing might easily be done, but 
never consented to as a Thing fit to be done. Now I'd ask any 
Man of Sense and Honour, who did but know my Lord Russel, 
let 'eni be never so much his Enemy, (if there were any such) 
which of these two they really judge most worthy to be believed? 
There is but o?ie against one. Rumsey, who either swore upon 
liking, for saving his Life, or was a Traftan, [That he was con- 
senting to the seizing the Guards] or my Lord Russel on his 
Death and Salvation solemnly affirming, [That he was so far 
from consenting to any such Thing, that there was not so much 
as any such Undertaking mentioned in the Company while he 
was with 'em.] Especially when 'tis observable, that Rumsey 
never instances in the Terms in which he gave his Consent, The 
same is to be said of the other Branch of his Evidence, as to 
the Message of the Insurrection, which, he says, he brought 
into the Room, found the Lord Russel and the rest by the Fire ; 
whence they all came to him, and heard his Message, and the 
Lord Russel discoursed of the Subject on't, and consented to't. 
To all which let's again oppose not only what he answered in 
his Trial, wherein he says, That he would swear he never heard, 
or knew of that Message, which Rumsey says he brought to 
them ; but also what he says in Confirmation thereof in his 
Speech, [7 shall aver, that what I said of my not hearing Col. 
Rumsey deliver any Message from my Lord Shaftsbury was 
true.] 

And a little before, [ When I came into the Room I saw Mr. 
Rumsey by the Chimney, tho? he swears he came in after.] 

One thing more is observable, That when West came to give 
in his Garniture-Evidence, he runs in a Length further than 
Rumsey, and remembers Rumsey had told him, what it seems 



KHtUtam Horn Uuml 53 

he himself had forgot, That on Mr. Trenchard's failing 'em, my 
Lord Russel was to go in his Place, and take up Posts along in 
the West. And indeed had not West miss'd his Cue, and by 
imitating my Lord Howard's Example, begun first with Hear- 
say, he had made as stabbing an Evidence as e'er a one of the 
other — Or had they but let him run to the End of his Thred, 
and take Things methodically, as his Lordship did before him. 

For Shepherd, all must grant he says not a Syllable to the 
Purpose, or any thing which affects my Lord. He can hardly 
tell whether he was there when there was the Discourse of 
seizing the Guards, but speaks not a Word of my Lord's hearing, 
or in the leastwise consenting thereunto. 

As for my Lord Howard's Evidence, we may, without Scanda- 
lu?n Magnatwn, affirm, that every Lord is not fit to make a 
Privy -Counsellor j no, nor every witty Lord neither, especially 
in a Business of such a Concern. He does very well to say, the 
Council of Six all chose themselves; for had not he, given his 
own Vote for himself, hardly any Body else would have done it, 
since his Character is so notoriously different from that which 
he himself gives of my Lord Russel, [whom, he says, every one 
knew to be a Person of great Judgment, and not very lavish of 
Discourse^ For his Evidence, he too is so happy to have a 
better Memory than Rumsey, as well as West had ; and says, 
That the Duke #/* Monmouth told him, Rumsey had convey? d my 
Lord Russel to Shaftsbury, on whose Persuasion the Insurrection 
was put off a Fortnight longer. Of this Ru?nsey himself says 
not a Syllable. 

He says further, That when they had enquired how Matters 
stood in the Country, and the Duke of Monmouth had found 
Trenchard and the West-Country failed them, on this 'twas put 
off again — and this about the ijth or 1 8th 0/* October. Now 
this same action Rumsey speaks of, but takes a larger Scope as 
to the Time, the End of October, or Beginning of November, far 
enough from the 17th or 18th of the Month before. Rumsey 
says, On this Disappoint?nent of the Taunton Men and Tren- 
chard, Shaftsbury resolved to be gone. Lord Howard, — That 
he was so far from it, that he and his Party resolved to do it 
without the Lords, and had set one Time and t'other, and at 
last the ijth of November, which also not taking Effect, then 



54 W$t atae0terrt S^artproloffy* 

Shaftsbury went off. As to his Evidence, which was closer — 
the Story of the Council of Six, besides the former Improba- 
bility, that he among all the Men in England should be 
chosen one of 'em ; 'tis remarkable, that in their former greater 
Consults at Shepherd's which he and Runtsey mention, the 
Lord Howard was never present, nor so much as touches pn't 
in his Evidence ; tho' here, if any were, the grand Affair of 
seizing the Guards, and the Answer to Shaftsbury about Taun- 
ton was concerted. All that appears of Truth in the Matter, 
seems to be what my Lord Russel acknowledges, — That those 
Persons named, met very often — that there was no formed 
Design, but only loose Talk about those Concerns. That there 
zuas no Debate of any such Thing as was sworn, nor putting 
any Thing in a Method : but my Lord Howard being a Man of 
a Voluble Tongue, and one who talkt very well, they were all 
delighted to hear him. 

Nor indeed does my Lord Howard positively swear, even 
supposing this formed Consult to be true, that my Lord Russel 
actually consented to it. Only — That he was there — and that 
he took it, and that he did give his Consent. 

'Tis a very ill Cause that needs either a Lye or a Cheat to 
defend it. My Lord Russel himself being so ingenuous to 
acknowledge whatever of Truth, any that knew him will believe 
to be in his Part of the Design, 'twould be an Injury to his 
Memory to do any otherwise. It appears then from his own 
Acknowledgment, that Howard, Armstrong, and such others, 
had sometimes discoursed of ill Designs and Matters in his 
Company : And, as he says in his Speech, [ What the Heats, 
Wickedness, Passions, and Vanities of other Men had occasioned, 
he ought not to be answerable for, nor could he repress 'em.] 
Nay more, he did sufficiently disapprove those Things which 
he heard discoursed of with more Heat than Judgment. But 
for himself, declares solemnly again and again, That he was 
never in any Design against the King's Life, or any Man's 
whatsoever j nor ever in any Contrivance of altering the 
Government. If so, what then becomes of all the Story of the 
Council of Six? And is't not to be thrown among the same 
Lumber with the Old Famous Nags-head- Tavern Business ? 
; Twill be still said he was an 111 Man, in being guilty by this 



aaiilltam ilorli Eu00ei> 55 

very Confession, of Misprision of Treason. — Supposing this true 
— That was not Death, and he died, as he says, Innocent of 
the Crime he stood condemned for. And besides, every Lord 
has not Brow hard enough, nor Tongue long enough, nor Soul 
little enough, to make an Informer against others to save his own 
Life ? [/ hope, says he, no Body will imagine that so mean a 
Tho7ight could enter into me, as to go about to save my Life by 
accusing others. The Part that some have acted lately of that 
Kind, has not been such as to invite me to love Life at such a Rate. 

But all this does not depend on his naked Word, since the 
Evidence who swore against him, being such as were neither 
credible, nor indeed so much as legal Witnesses, the Accusation 
of itself must fall to the Ground. If legal, they were not credi- 
ble, because, as my Lord Delamere observes in this Case, they 
had no Pardons, but hunted, as the Cormorant does, with 
Strings about their Necks, which West, in his Answer to Wal- 
cofs Letter, ingenuously acknowledges, and says, [Tw through 
God's and the Kings Mercy, he was not at the apparent Point 
of Death.] That is, in a fair Construction, was not just turning 
over, but was upon Trial, to see whether he'd do Business, and 
deserve to 'scape Hanging. Much such an honourable Way of 
getting Pardon, as the Fellow who saved his own Neck by turn- 
ing Hangmaji, and doing the good Office to his own Father. 

Nor indeed was the great Witness, the honourable Lord, who 
cast this Noble Person, so much as a legal, any more than a 
credible Witness. No man alive has any Way to clear himself 
from the most perjur'd Villain's Malice, if he swears against 
him Point-blank, but either by Circumstance of Time, or invali- 
dating his very Evidence. Let any think of another Way if 
they can. The first of these was precluded. 'Twas that which 
had before been made Use of to sham off a truer Plot, and much 
more valid Evidence. But here Rumsey and the rest came to 
no determinate Time, but only about such a Time j about the 
End of October, or Beginning of November : And others cloud 
the precise Time in so many Words, that 'tis impossible to find 
it. All then that could be done, was as to the Person. Now 
what Thing can be. invented, which can more invalidate the 
Evidence any Person gives, than his solemn, repeated, voluntary 
Oath, indubitably proved against him, that such a Person is 



56 W)t WLt&mn ^artprolog:?. 

innocent of that very Crime of which he afterwards accuses 
him ? If this be the Case or no here, let any one read the fol- 
lowing Depositions, and make an indifferent Judgment. My 
Lord Anglesey witnesses, He was at the Earl of Bedford's, after 
his Son was imprisoned, where carne in my Lord Howard, and 
began to comfort him, saying, He was happy in so wise a Son, 
and worthy a Person; and who could never be in such a Plot as 
that. That he knew nothing against him, or any Body else, of 
such a barbarous Design. But this was not upon Oath, and 
only related to the Assassination, as he says for himself in his 
Paring-distinction. Look then a little lower to Dr. Burnet, 
whom the Lord Howard was with the Night after the Plot broke 
out, and then, as well as once before, with Hands and Eyes 
lifted up to Heaven, did say, He knew nothing of ANY Plot, 
nor believed ANY. Here's the most Solemn Oath, as he him- 
self confesses voluntarily, nay, unnecessarily ; tho' perhaps in 
my Lord Bedford's Case, good Nature might work upon him. 
Here's the Paring of his Apple broke all to Pieces. No Sha- 
dow, no Room left for his Distinction between the Insurrection 
and Assassination, but without any Guard or Mitigation at all, 
he solemnly swears, he knew not of ANY Plot, nor believed 
ANY. 

But 'twas no great Matter, for the Jury were resolv'd to know 
and believe it, whether he did or no. 

There's but one little Subterfuge more, and the Case is clear. 
All this Perjury, all these solemn Asseverations he tells us were 
only to brazen out the Plot, and to outface the Thing for himself 
and Party. This he fairly acknowledges ; and let all the World 
be the Jury, whether they would destroy one of the Bravest Men 
in it, on the Evidence of such a Person ? But there's yet a 
farther Answer. His cousin Mr. Howard, who was my Lord's 
Intimate Friend, who secured him in his House, to whom he 
might open his Soul, and to whom it seems he did, he having 
made Application to Ministers of State in his Name, that he was 
willing to serve the King, and give him Satisfaction; — To him, 
I say, with whom he had secret Negotiations, and that of such a 
Nature — will any believe that he would outface the Thing here 
too ? That he would perjure himself for nothing, where no 
Danger, no Good came on't ? No certainly, his Lordship had 



aaiiiliam Horn Eu00ei- 57 

more Wit and Conscience, and Honour ; he ought to be vin- 
dicated from such an Imputation, even for the Credit of his main 
Evidence ; for my Lord Gray, he tells us, was left out of their 
Councils for his Immoralities"; and had he himself been such a 
Sort of a Man, those piercing Heads in the Council would have 
certainly found him out before, and never admitted him among 
the7n. As for the very Thing, Mr. Howard tells it as generously, 
and with as much honest Indignation as possible, in Spite of the 
Checks the Court gave him. [He took it, says he, upon his Hon- 
our, his Faith, and as 7nuch as if he had taken an Oath before a 
Magistrate, that he knew nothing of any Man concerned in this 
Business — and particularly of the Lord Russel ; of whom he 
added, that he thought he did unjustly suffer.] So that if he had 
the same Soul on Monday, that he had on Sunday, (the very 
Day before (this could not be true that he swore against the 
Lord Russel. My Lord RusseVs Suffering was Imprisonment, 
and that for the same Matter on which he was tried, the In- 
surrection, not the Assassination. If my Lord Howard knew 
him guilty of that for which he was committed, tho' not the other, 
how could he then say, 'Twas unjustly done ? 

After all this, 'twould be almost superfluous to go any further, 
or insert the Evidence given by Dr. Tillotson, Burnet, Cox, and 
others, not only of his Vertuous and Honourable Behaviour, but 
especially of his Judgment about any Stirs, or Popular Insurrec- 
tions, — That he was absolutely against *e7n, — that J twas Folly 
and Madness till Things came to be regulated in a Parliamentary 
Way, and thought 'twould ruin the best Cause in the World to 
take any such Ways to preserve it. 

All this and more would not do, die he must, the Duke ordered 
it, the Witnesses swore it, the Judges directed it, the Jury found 
it ; and when the Sentence came to be pass'd, the Judge ask'd, 
as is usual, What he had to say why it shoidd not be pro- 
nounced f He answered, That whereas he had been charged in 
the Indictment which was then read to him, with Conspiring the 
Death of the King, which he had not taken Notice of before, he 
appealed to the Judge and Court, whether he were guilty within 
the Statute on which he was tried, the Witnesses having sworn 
an Intention of Levying War, but not of Killing the King, of 
which there was no Proof by any one Wit?iess. The Recorder 



58 W$z Mzgtzvn 9£artprclog;p- 

told him, That was an Exception proper, and as he thought, his 
Lordship did make it before the Verdict. Whether the Evidence 
did amount to prove the Charge, was to be observed by the Jury; 
for ij the Evidence caine short of the Indictment, they could not 
find it to be a true Charge; but when once they had found it, 
their Verdict did pass for Truth, and the Court was bound by.it, 
as well as his Lordship, and they were to go according to what 
the Jury had found, not their Evidence. Now Pd fain know, 
what's the Reason of the Prisoner's being ask'd that Question, 
What he has to say for himself? Is't only Formality, or 
Banter ? He makes an Exception, which the Judge himself con- 
fesses proper. But who was Counsel for the Prisoner? Is not the 
Bench ? Or, does it not pretend to be so ? And why is not this 
observed by them in their Direction to the Jury ? The Recorder 
seems to grant it fairly, that the Evidence did not prove the 
Charge, and says, the Court was to go, Not according to the 
Evidence. Well, Evidence, or none, the Truth is, was not the 
Question ? For being found guilty, Sentence past upon him — 
whence he was removed to Newgate. While he was there, the 
Importunity of his Friends, as he says handsomly in his Speech, 
lest they should think him sullen or stubborn, prevailed with him 
to sign Petitions, and make an Address for his Life, tho* Hwas 
not without Difficulty that he did any thing that was begging to 
save it. But with how much Success, it may easily be guessed 
by any who knew the Duke's Temper, nor is it forgotten how 
barbarously his Lady and Children were repulsed, and the 
King's good Nature not suffered to save one of the best Men in 
his Kingdom. Dr. Burnet and Dr. Tillotson were with him 
much of the Time between his Sentence and Death ; where to 
the last, he owned that Doctrine, which other good Men, who 
were then of another Judgment, have since been forc'fc into, 
namely, the Lawfulness of Resistance against unlawful Violence, 
from whom soever it be. 

After the fruitless Applications for his Pardon ; after a Farewell 
and Adieu in this World, to one of the best of Women, who stood 
by him, and assisted him in his Trial, and left him not till now, 
he at last on Saturday the 21st of July went into his own Coach 
about Nine a Clock, with Dr. Tillotson and Dr. Burnet; whence 
he was carried to Great-Lincolns-hm-Field to the Scaffold 



Mlttitottt %or& l&uml 59 

prepared for him, where, among all the numerous Spectators, he 
was one of the most unconcerned Persons there ; and very few 
rejoyced at so doleful a Spectacle, but the Papists, who indeed 
had sufficient Reason ; my Lord Powis's People expressing, as 
'tis said, a great deal of Pleasure and Satisfaction. There, after 
he had again solemnly protested his Innocency, and that he was 
far from any Design against the King's Person, or of altering 
the Government : Nay, That he did upon the Words of a dying 
Man, profess, that he knew of no Plot against the King's Life or 
Government j and delivering one of the finest Speeches in the 
World to the Sheriff, he prayed by himself, and with Dr. Tillot- 
sorts Assistance ; and embracing him and Dr. Burnet, he sub- 
mitted to the fatal Stroaks, for the Executioner took no less 
than Three before he could sever his Head, which when 'twas 
held up, as usual, there was so far from being any Shout, that a 
considerable Groan was heard round the Scaffold. His Body 
was given to his Friends, and conveyed to Cheneys in Bucking- 
hamshire, where 'twas buried among his Ancestors. There 
was a great Storm, and many loud Claps of Thunder the day 
of his Martyrdom. 

An Elegy was made on him immediately after his Death ; 
which seems, by what we have of it, to be writ with some Spirit, 
and a great deal of Truth and good Will ; only this Fragment 
on't could be retrieved, which yet may not be unwelcome to 
the Reader. 

'Tis done — he's crowrfdj and one bright Martyr more, 
Black Pome, is charg'd on thy too bulky Score. 
All like hiinself he mov'd ; so calm, so free, 
A general Whisper question'd — Which is He ? 
Deckt like a Lover, tho' pale Death's his Bride, 
He came, and saw, and overcame, and dy'd. 
Earth wept, and all the vainly pitying Croud : 
But Heaven his Death in Thunder groan' d aloud. 

The rest are lost — But he has better Justice done him by the 
honourable Parliament ; and if the World should possibly be so 
malicious and silly, in After-Ages, as some are in this, and ask, 
What have they done since their Meeting? Had we not a 
Nation saved, Peace preserved, and many other almost Miracles 



60 %\}t Wzgmii St^arrprolog;^ 

to answer 'em ; yet this one Thing would be sufficient, That in 
this Sessions, they had Reversed the Judgment againt this Ver- 
tuous, Pious, and Honourable Lord. 

For his Character, if we'll believe the best Men, and those who 
knew him best, 'tis one of the most advantagious the Age, or 
indeed, our Nation has yielded. Those are great Words which 
Mr. Lev is ton Gower speaks of him on his Trial, but yet not a 
Syllable too big for his Merit, tho' they are very expressive of 
it. — That he was one of the best Sons, the best Fathers, the best 
Husbands, 'the best Masters, the best Friends, and the best Chris- 
tians. By others, That he was a most Vertuous, Prudent, and 
Pious Gentle?nan. — A Man of that Vertue, that none who knew 
him could think him guilty of such a Conspiracy. — A man of 
great Honour, and too prudent to be concerned in so vile and 
desperate a Design. — A Person of great Vertue and Integrity. — 
One, whom those he had long conversed with, never heard utter 
so much as a Word of Indecency against the King.] And others 
of the highest Quality, who had been often in his Company, say, 
That they had never heard any Thing from him, but what was 
honourable, just, and loyal. 

His Person was tall and proper ; his Temper even and agree- 
able, and such as rendered his Vertues even more lovely than 
they did him. His Piety and Devotion as unaffected, and yet as 
remarkable as his Love to the Church of England. The true 
Church of England, as he himself calls it, not those Tumours 
and Wens that grow upon it, and pretended to be not only Part, 
but All of it, in our late bad Times ; to whose H eighths and 
Extravagances he thinks it no Shame, in his Speech, to confess 
he could never rise. He was of a Noble Courage, which he did 
not express by Quarrels or Duelling, but serving his Country at 
Sea in the most dangerous Wars, and at Land in the Parliament, 
in more dangerous Councils and Debates. He was there a true 
Englishman — still the same ; you knew where he would be, for 
he never mov'd. A strenuous Asserter and Defender of his 
Country's Religion and Rights against all Opposers, and that in 
a Lawful and Parliamentary Method. He spoke little there, but 
always very home, and much to the Purpose — And that was as 
true a Character of him formerly recited, as if it had come from 
a better Man, That every one knew the Lord Russel to be a 



aaiftliam Horn l&uggeL 61 

Person of great Judgment, and not very lavish in Discourse, 
Lastly, which will give no small Heightening to his Character, 
He had Mr. Johnson to his Chaplain. 

An Abstract of the Late Noble Lord RusseFs Speech to 
the Sheriffs ; as also of a Paper delivered by him to 
them at the Place of his much lamented Execution, 
July 21. 1683. 

In his Speech to the Sheriffs, he tells them, that for Fear of 
not being well heard, he had couched what he had to say upon 
that sad Occasion in the Paper he deliver'd them ; only he pro- 
tests his Innocence of any Designs against the King^s Person, 
or the then Government, and prays for the Preservation of both, 
and of the Protestant Religion; and in short, declares, that he 
forgives all the World, and wishes that all True Protesta7its may 
love one another, and not make Way for Popery by their 
Animosities. * 

In the Paper, He first declares himself composed for Death, 
and weaned from this World. Then he affectionately thanks 
God, as in general, so in particular, for his advantagious Birth 
and Religious Education, of which in that important Occasion, 
he found such happy and powerful Effects, as kept him up 
against the Fear of Death, and all other Discomposures, and 
armed him with such Assurances in God's Love and Mercy, 
as made the most joyful of the visibly saddest Moments of his 
Life. 

He professes to die as he had lived, a sincere Protestant oi the 
Church of England, tho' he never could come up to the Heighths 
of some ; wishes more Moderation both in Church-men and 
Dissenters j and that the Common Danger oi Popery might move 
them to lay aside their Differences, and all Persecuting Inclina- 
tions, as more unseasonable than at any other Time. 

He declares, he had a Notion oi Popery, as of an Idolatrous 
and Bloody Religion, and thought himself bound to act in his 
Station against it, notwithstanding the Power of the Enemies 
he was sure to meet with on that Account, &>c. But yet he pro- 
fesses he never thought of doing any thing against it basely or 
inhumanely, against the Maxims of Christian Religion, or the 



62 <®%t WLtmvn Sl^artproloff^. 

Laws and Liberties of this Kingdom, for his Sincerity, in which, 
he appeals to God, renouncing all Passion, By-end, or Ill-Design, 
as also all Designs of changing the Government, which was in 
his Opinion, the best in the World, and for which, as well as his 
Country, which he valued above his Life, he was ever ready to 
venture it : Disclaims all Thoughts against the King's Life, 
denying even the Lord Howard to have said any thing tending 
to prove it. 

Prays sincerely for the King and Nation, and wishes they may 
be mutually happy in one another ; that the King may be truly 
a Defender of the Faith ; that the Protestant Religion and 
Kingdom may flourish under him, and he be happy in both 
Worlds. 

As to his Share in the Prosecution of the Popish Plot, he de- 
clares he acted sincerely in it, as really believing, as he still did, 
the Truth of such a Conspiracy, and disclaims his Knowledge of 
any Practices with the Witnesses, which he protests against as 
abominable, and disowns Falshood or Cruelty ever to have been 
in his Nature. 

He persists in his Opinion, that Popery was breaking in upon 
the Nation, and grieves to see Protestants instrumental to it ; 
declares his Fears of the Sufferings the Protestant Religion was 
like to undergo, and bewails the publick and shameless Impiety 
that abounded ; and modestly admonishes all Persons, and par- 
ticularly his Friends, Well-wishers to the Protestant Cause, that 
were defective, to live up to its Principles. Then he declares 
his Submission to God's Pleasure, freely forgives his Enemies, 
and desires his Friends to seek no Revenge for his Blood. 

After which, he looks back, and gives some little Touches 
concerning his past Behaviour, and the Manner of his Treatment 
at his Trial. 

He confesses, he moved much for the Bill of Exclusion, as the 
only effectual Remedy to secure both the King's Life, the Protes- 
tant Religion, and the Frame of the Government, he thinking 
none of them could be safe so long as there was any Hopes of a 
Popish Successor; and that the Limitations proposed to Bind 
the Duke, were effectual Remedies against those Fears, because 
the Nation could never be easie and safe under a King without 
a Prerogative : But yet imputes his prese?it Sufferings to the 



aaiilltam Horti l&ttSJstel. 63 

Revengeful Resentments some Persons retained for his Earnest- 
ness in that Matter. 

Next, as to his conspiring to seize the Guards, he disowns that 
ever he was concerned in any such Design, or ever heard talk 
of any such Thing as designed, but only once, as of a Thing 
feazible, against which likewise he warmly declared himself, and 
said, the Consequence of it was so like to end in Massacring the 
Guards in cold Blood, that he could not but abhor the Thoughts 
of it, as approaching too near the Popish Practice ; at which the 
Duke of Monmouth taking him by the Hand, cried out affec- 
tionately, that he saw they were both of a Temper ; he adds 
on that Occasion, that he always observed in that Duke an 
Abhorrence to all Base Things. 

He proceeds to shew how he went to the Meeting at Mr. Shep- 
herd's, at the Duke of Monmouth's earnest Request, chiefly to 
endeavour to prevent any such disorderly Proceedings, as the 
Duke feared would be otherwise put on by some hot Men, 
whose rash Courses he did accordingly most vigorously oppose, 
and yet was condemned only for not discovering them, tho' he 
endeavoured to reform them, because he would not stoop to so 
mean a Thought, as that of going about to save his Life by 
accusing others for Crimes that they only talkt of, and that, as 
we may partly gather from his Discourse, he had effectually dis- 
suaded them from too, so that his Intention was good, and his 
Part in that Transaction, even in the strictest Sense of Law, but a 
Misprision of Treason, and therefore he declares he cannot but 
think the Sentence of Death past against him to be very hard, 
and he by a strange Fetch, brought within the Compass of the 
Statute of Treason, of Edward the Third. 

He moreover adds, that he had so convincing a Sense of his 
own Innocence in that Case, that he would not betray it by Flight, 
tho' much pressed to it. He next excuses his saying so little at 
his Trial, saying, he hoped it lookt more like Innocence than 
Guilt : Adding, that he was advised not to confess Matter of 
Fact too plainly, because it would certainly have brought him 
within the Guilt of Misprision, and so he thought it better to say 
little, than by departing from the Ingenuity he had always prac- 
tised, by using little Tricks and Evasions, to make the last and 
solemnest Part of his Life so notably different from the pre- 



64 W$t WLt&mn St^artprolog;?- 

ceding Course of it, as such a Conduct would have made it. 
He farther subjoins, That he never pretended great Readiness 
in Speaking, and advises those Gentlemen of the Law that have 
it, to use it more conscienciously, and not to run Men down, and 
impose on Easie and Willing Juries by Strains and Fetches, dr'c., 
the Killing unjustly by Law, being the worst of Murthers. He 
then, as in several other Places, repeating his Wishes, that the 
Rage and Revenge of some Men, and the Partiality of Juries, 
may be stopped with his blood, and so after a small Hint, how 
by the Importunity of his Dearest and most Vertuous Lady, and 
some other Dear Friends, he had been prevailed upon against 
his Inclinations, to Address, tho' ineffectually, for his Lifej he 
concludes with a fresh Protestation of his Innocency, and a 
Devout Prayer to God, suitable to that sad Occasion. 




CAPTAIN WALCOT, &c. 

APTAIN Walcot and his Fellow- Sufferers, in Order 
of Time, should have gone first, he being convicted 
before my Lord Russel, and executed the Friday, as 
he on Saturday. But my '.Lord Russet's Fate having 
so immediate a Dependance on the Earl of Essex's, and all the 
Plot hanging on him ; especially they two making the greatest 
Figure of any who suffered on this Occasion; it lookt more 
proper and natural to begin with them, and reserve the other 
to this Place. Captain Walcot was a Gentleman of a considerable 
Estate in Ireland, but more remarkable for the rare Happiness 
of having Eight Children all at once living, and most of all, for 
his Love to his Country, which cost him his Life. We can have 
but little Dependance, as has been before hinted, on the Publick 
Papers relating to these Concerns, especially in his Case, where 
Cartwright was engaged. What appears to us, and we may 
believe most reasonable, and what's agreed on of all Hand, is — 
That West, Rumsey, and, I think, one more of 'em, had frequent 
Discourses, at least, of Killing the King and Duke — so horrid 
and barbarous a Thing, and so like the Practice and Principles of 
those worst of Men, the Papists ; that as every true Fnglis/i- 



Captain ftfllalcot, $c, 65 

man, and good Christian must needs conceive a Detestation 
and Horror at the very Mention of it ; so, no Doubt, it will be 
very acceptable to such to find when the Thing is enquired 
closely into, which has partly been done before, and shall now 
be finished, to find no Probability of any thing real in the 
Bottom, none engaged in it, but two or three Knaves, and one 
Fool. No person of Honour or Character, who had heard so 
much as any Discourse of it, but what immediately disapproved, 
or detested it, as much as any good Man ought to do : Tho' 
some of 'em, if there were more than Walcot, might hear such 
mad Discourse, as my Lord Russel says, the Wickedness, 
Passions, and Vanities of other Men might have occasioned ; 
and yet not believing any thing in it more than Words, nor 
think they were obliged to turn Informers and Hangmen ; which 
because they did not do, they suffered themselves. And this 
any reasonable Man will, I doubt not, upon a little free thinking, 
acknowledge to be Walcofs Case, and no further. The pre- 
tended Crime for which Walcot suffered, and which West and 
others witnessed against him, was — Consulting the Death of the 
King, and charging the Guards, at his Return from New-market, 
while the dreadful Blunderbuss was to be fired into the Coach 
by Rumbold, or some others. His Privacy to Discourses about 
the King's Death was but Misprision. For his acting in it, they 
could not have pitched on a more unlikely Man to command a 
Party in so desperate an Attempt as charging the Guards, than 
one that was Sick and Bedrid of the Gout, as about this Time, 
and often besides, the Captain was. Nor seems Wesfs Pre- 
tence more likely — That he refused to be actual in the Assas- 
sination, because of the Baseness of it, but offered to charge the 
Guards, while others did it — much as wisely and tenderly, as if 
he had denied to cut a Man's Throat, but consented to hold his 
Hands while others did it. This he denies with Indignation in 
his Speech, and [Appeals to all that knew him, Whether they 
thought him such an Idiot, that he should not understand 'twas 
the same Thing to engage the King's Guards, whilst others 
killed him; or to kill him with his own Hands?] Here then, 
'tis plain, lyes the Pinch of the Matter ; West and Rumsey, &c. 
had been frequently discoursing at that Bloody, Villanous Rate ; 
West was most impatiently eager of having it done — He pro- 

F 



66 %ty WLt^mn ^artgrolog:?* 

posed the Lopping 'em at a Play, which he said would be [in 
their own Calling?] 

For some of those who are charged with this foul Business, 
as Promoters, or so much as Approvers thereof, were they Inno- 
cent or Guilty as to that Particular ; I can assure the Reader I 
have the same thought of 'em, that Juvenal had of Sejanus, 
and can say as he does, Nunquam si quid mihi credis, amavi. But 
however one may add as he does, Sed quo accidit sub crimine ? 
Quisnam Delator f Quibus Indiciis f Quo Teste ? And 
almost resolve all these Questions to the same Way, with a — Nil 
horum. Never was any Party without many ill Men — This, no 
Doubt, had too many whose ill Lives both discredited, and in 
Probability, ruined the best Cause in the World, as my Lord 
Russel intimated in his Speech. Some of these, not having the 
Fear of God before their Eyes, might have such traiterous 
Designs ; nay, and by their own Confession, it appears they had 
so — But let's not however be hurried away in a Popular Stream, 
which generally runs very muddy, [to condemn those, who, 
whatever Personal Faults they may have had, how turbulent 
their Nature, or bad their Morals, or ill their Character, yet 
seem to be no Way concerned in so bloody and barbarous a 
Conspiracy, how home soever it might be charged upon 'em. 
West and Rumsey were the main Pillars, and almost only 
Witnesses on which the Credit of that Action depended, who 
appear all through the great and almost sole Managers thereof, 
and who accuse others for being concerned in it. What and 
how much their Credit weighs, we have already hinted, but 
shall yet confront it with further Testimonies relating to this 
Matter, and that of Dying Men, who could expect no Pardons 
in this World, nor t'other for a Falshood. Besides, Riunbold^s 
solemn Protestation ; see Walcofs Speech and Paper, wherein 
he as deeply affirms, as a Man can do, [That West bought Arms 
for this Villanous Design (which cannot be expressed with 
Detestation enough) without any Direction of his — nay, without 
any Direction, Knowledge, or Privity of his.] West says in 
his Answer to this, as well as in his Evidence, [That Walcot 
joined in the Direction about the Nature and Size of those 
Arms ; that he was very intimate and familiar with this Rum- 
bold, who was to be the principal Actor in the Assassination.] 



Captain aaialcot, $c* 67 

But Rumbold's Death before recited, clears himself, and Walcot, 
and shews us what West is. In another Place he affirms — 
That Walcot told him Ferguson had the chief Management of 
the intended Assassination. . Rwnbold's hard Name, as has 
been said already, Ferguson's ill Name, and the Absence of 'em 
both, brought 'em in all Probability into the Business; and 
Walcofs being past answering for himself or them, made it very 
advisable to charge so much on him. So in the same Nature 
Ferguson was the Author of that Expression Walcot had from 
West, — Ferguson undertook for the Duke of Monmouth, — 
Ferguson proposed to see for an Opportunity between Windsor 
and Hampton- Court. — The Men to commit the Assassination 
were all provided by Ferguson, Rwnbold, &c. And I remember 
another of 'em, or. he himself, talks of Fifty Men engaged for 
the very Action. Now as meer good Nature, and the Love I 
have to my Countrymen, will never suffer me to believe there 
could be so many Englishmen found, and Protestants too, who 
would consent to kill their King ; never any one having acknow- 
ledged such a Design besides poor Hone, who was so stupid, he 
could not give one sensible Answer to what Cart-wright asked 
him at his Death ; So plain Testimony, and Dint of Fact and 
Reason, forces me to conclude these Persons here charged were 
not guilty. See what Rouse says of it — He was told, they did 
not intend to spill so much as one Drop of Blood. But most 
particularly Holloway, [He could not perceive Ferguson knew 
anything of the New-market Design, but Rumsey and West 
were deep in't.] Again, [Holloway askt West who was to act 
the Assassination? To which he could give but a slender 
Answer, and could, or would name but Two Men, Rumbold and 
his Brother.] Just such probable Stuff as Coll edge's seizing the 
King by himself at Oxford, [So that (he goes on) we found they 
had but few Men, if more than Two, and no Horses, only a 
Parcel of Arms he shewed at a Gunsmith's.] And lower at 
another Time, [West only named Rumsey and Rich. Good- 
enough as concerned in the Assassination — West again proposed 
the Assassination, but none seconded him — Rumsey was for the 
old Strain of killing the King, to which not one consented — He 
could never find above Five concerned in it. — He heard Walcot 
speak against it— I knew Ferguson to be against any such Design. 

F 2 



68 C&e Wltgmn S^artprolog;^ 

Upon the whole, the World is left to its Liberty to believe, at 
least Three Dying Mens Asseverations, against those who so 
plainly swore others Necks into the Halter, to get their own out, 
that West himself is not ashamed to own in his forementioned 
Answer, That he was still in Danger of Death, though not so 
eminent as it had been ; not at the apparent Point of Death. 
And at the Close of this Paper, — If it shall please the King to 
spare my Life for my Confession, it is a great Happiness, &*c. 
Which Part of his Evidence every Body will easily believe. 

From all which, here lyes a fair Supposition of the Innocency . 
of this Captain, and others of what they were Accused, found 
Guilty, Sentenced, and Died for ; it being on Wesfs Evidence, 
and such as his, that he and others were Arraigned and Con- 
demned ; the Captain's Defence being much the same with what 
he says in his Speech. ; Tis well known, that the Witnesses 
against Captain Walcot swore for their own Lives with Halters 
about their Necks ; and it is as true that most of the Witnesses 
had talked at a mad Rate, in the hearing of some of those whom 
they destroyed ; but see, what Captain Walcot in a most solemn 
Manner declared with his last Breath. 

An Abstract of Captain Walcot's Speech. 

Captain Walcot denied any Design of killing the King, or of 
engaging the Guards, whilst others killed him; and said that 
the Witnesses invited him to Meetings, where some things were 
discoursed of, in Order to the asserting our Liberties and 
Properties; which we lookt upon to be violated and invaded : — 
That they importuned and perpetually sollicited him, and then 
delivered him up to be hanged — That they combined together to 
swear him out of his Life, to save their own j and that they might 
do it effectually, they contrived an Untruth. — That he forgave 
them, though guilty of his Blood; but withal, earnestly begged, 
That they might be observed, that Remarks might be set upon 
them, whether their End be Peace; and he concluded (with what 
made Sir Roger E Estrange a great deal of Sport, but yet 
Heaven has made it good) That when God fcatfr a 2D2Horfc to oo, fee 
toitf not toant Instruments. 

With him was tried Rouse, who was charged with such a 
Parcel of mad Romance, as was scarce ever heard of ; and one 



Captain Mialcot, $c* 69 

would wonder how Perjury and Malice, which used to be sober 
Sins, could ever be so extravagant as to hit on ? t. He was to 
seize the Tower ; pay the Rabble, uncase the Aldermen, to be 
Pay-master and Flea-master General, and a great deal more to 
the same Tune. In his Defence he says no great Matter, but 
yet what looks a thousand times more like Truth than his 
Accusation ; That the Tower-Business was only Discourse of 
the Feazibleness of the Thing, (as Russet's about the Guards) 
but without the least Intent of bringing it to Action; That all 
he was concerned in any real Design, he had from Lee, and was 
getting more out of him, with an Intentioi to make a Dis- 
covery. But it seems Lee got the Whip-hand of him ; they were 
both at a kind of Halter- Combat j Rouse's Foot slipt, and Lee 
turned him over, and saved his own Neck. 

His Dying- Words. 

Mr. Rouse declared, that he was told, that They did not inte?id 
to spill one Drop of. Blood j and affirmed that Lee, the Witness 
against him, did (by his Evidence) make him the Author of the 
very Words, that came out of his, the said Lee's, own mouth. 

A Brief Extract of Captain Walcofs Prayer. 

O Lord, our God, Thou art a God of present Help in Time of 
Trouble, a God, that hast promised to be with thy People in the 
Fire and in the Water. O Lord, we pray thee, that thou wilt 
afford thy Presence to thy poor suffering Servants at this Time, 
O Lord, thy Servant that speaketh doth confess, that the 
Iniquities of his Heels have justly overtaken him ; O do thou 
bathe each of our Souls in that Fountain set open for Sin and 
for Uncleanness. O do thou enable every one of us, from the 
inward Evidence of thy Spirit, to say with thy Servant yob, 
That we know and are assured that our Redeemer lives. O give 
us some inward Tastes of those Heavenly Joys that we 
hope through the Mercy of Jesus Christ, in a little Time to have 
a more full Fruition of. O Lord, do thou speak Peace to every 
one of our Consciences ; tho' we lye under a Sentence of Death 
from Man, we beg that we may have a Sentence of Life Eternal 
from our God ; and though we meet thee, O Lord, in a Field of 



70 %ty WXz$mn fl^attgrologj* 

Blood, we beg that thou wilt come to meet with us in a Field of 
Mercy. O Lord, though we have been Prodigals, we desire to 
return unto our Father's House where there is Bread enough. 
O enable us to come unto thee as Children to their Parents. 
Lord, put to thy helping Hand ; Lord, teach us truly to leave 
no Sin unrepented of, in any one of our Hearts. And, O Lord, 
we beg that with us thou wilt give us Leave to recommend unto 
thy Care our Poor Wives and Children : Thou hast promised 
to be the Father of the Fatherless, and the Husband of the 
Widow j and thou hast commanded us to cast the Care of them 
upon thee. O do thou make Provision for them, and enable 
them to bear this severe Stroak with Patience. O Lord, we also 
beseech thee in the Behalf of these poor Kingdoms wherein we 
are, that thou wilt be merciful to them, prevent Divisions among 
them, heal all their Breaches, compose their Differences, make 
all that are thine of one Heart and Mind in the Things of thee 
our God. Lord, favour us with thy Mercy, assure us of thy 
Love, stand by us in this difficult Hour, take us into thine own 
Care, cause thy Angels to attend us, to convey our Souls as soon 
as they are divided from our Bodies, into Abraha?7i's Bosom. 
All which we beg for the Sake of thy Son Jesus Christ, in whom, 
O Lord, this little Time do thou give us Hearts to give thee all 
Glory, Honour and Praise, now and for ever more, A?nen, Sweet 
Jesus, Amen. 

Hone was accused, and owns himself guilty of a Design to 
Kill the King and the Duke of York, or one, or neither, for 'tis 
impossible to make any Sense of him. When they came to 
suffer, Walcot read a Paper, in which was a good rational Con- 
fession of his Faith ; then comes to the Occasion of his Death, 
for which he says, he neither blames the Judges, Juty, nor 
Council, but only some Men, that in Reality were deeper con- 
cerned than he, who combined together to swear him out of his 
Life to save their own, and that they might do it effectually, 
contrived an Untruth, &^>c. He forgives the World and the 
Witnesses : Gives his Friends advice to be more prudent than 
he had been; prays that his may be the last Blood spilt on that 
Account j wishes the Ki7ig would be 77ierciful to others; says he 
knew nothing of Ireland, and concludes, with praying God 
to have Mercy upon him. He had then some Discourse with 



Captain S&lalcot, $c* 71 

Cartwright, wherein he tells him, That he was not for contriv- 
ing the Death of the King, nor to have had a hand irttj and 
being urged with some Matters of Controversy, tells him, He did 
not coine thither to Dispute about Religion, but to die Religiously. 

But though Dying be a serious Business, yet 'tis almost impos- 
sible to read Hone's Discourse with the Dean, without as violent 
Temptations to laughter as Compassion. Never was so exact 
an Imitation of the Scene of the Fisherman and Kings in the 
Rehearsal, when he tells 'em Prince Pretty-man killed Prince 
Pretty -?nan. One would think him very near in the same Case 
with Bateman, who came after him. His Replies are so incon- 
gruous, that there is hardly either Sense or English to be made 
out of 'em. But the poor Fellow talks of Snares and Circum- 
stances, and no Body knows what, and says in one Line, He was 
to meet the King and Duke of York, but he did not know when, 
where, nor for what : In the next, he was for killing the King, 
and saving the. Duke; and when ask'd the Reason, answers, the 
only sensible Thing he said all through, That he knew no Rea- 
son, that he did not know what to say to't. And when the Dean 
charges him with the Mtirderous Design, — That he knew as 
little of it, as any poor silly Man in the World. 

Rouse comes next, gives an Account of his Faith, professing to 
die of the Church of England, tells his former Employment and 
Manner of Life, acknowledges he heard of Clubs and Designs, 
but was never at 'em, and a perfect Stranger to any thing of that 
Nature. Gives a Relation of what past between him and his 
Majesty on his Apprehension. Talks somewhat of Sir Thomas 
Player, the Earl of Shaftsbury, and accommodating the King's 
Son, as he calls it, tho' not while the King reign'd. Then falls 
upon Lee, and the Discourse they had together, who, as he says, 
swore against him on the Trial those very Words he himself 
had used in pressing him to undertake the Design. Speaks of a 
Silver Ball which he proposed to be thrown up on Black-Heath, 
and after some Discourse with the Ordinary, gives the Specta- 
tors some good Counsel. Then they all three singly prayed ; 
and then the Sentence was executed upon 'em. 




72 %ty H&t&tzvn S^artprologp. 

ALGERNON SIDNEY, ESQ. 

HE next Victim to Popish Cruelty and Malice, was 
Colonel Algernon Sidney, of the Ancient and Noble 
Name and Family of the Sidneys, deservedly Fa- 
mous to the utmost Bounds of Europe j who, as tne 
Ingenious Mr. Hawles observes, was meerly talkt to death, under 
the notion of a Common- wealths Man, and found guilty by a 
Jury who were not much more proper Judges of the Case, than 
they would have been had he writ in Greek or Arabick. He 
was Arraigned for a Branch of this Plot at Westminster the 17th 
of Novemb. 1683. where, tho' it cannot be said the Grand Jury 
knew not what they did, when they found the Bill against him, 
since, no Doubt, they were well instructed what to do ; yet it 
must, that they found it almost before they knew what 'twas, 
being so well resolved on the Case, and agreed on their Verdict, 
that had he been Indicted for breaking up an House, or robbing 
on the Highway, 'twas doom'd to have been Billa vera, as much 
as 'twas now. For tho' the Indictment was never presented to 
'em before they came into the Hall, yet they immediately found 
it : The Substance whereof was, [For a Conspiracy to depose the 
King, and stirring up Rebellion, and writing a libel for that 
Purpose^ The most Part of the Evidence brought against him, 
was only Hear-say, as against my Lord Russel j nay, West, 
whose Evidence was then refused, now was admitted to tell a 
long Story of what he had from one and t'other. Pumsey's was 
much of the same Nature. In the rear came that never failing 
Evidence, the Lord Howard, who witnesses he was one of the 
Council of Six, and engaged one of the deepest in their Con- 
sults. And more than that, exercises his own Faculty very 
handsomly, in an account of two Speeches Mr. Hambden made 
on the Occasion, which indeed were such fine Things, that some 
might think it worth the while to swear against a Man, only to 
have the Reputation of reciting 'em ; and whom they are most 
like, Mr. Hamden, or my Lord's own witty self let any Man 
judge. 

The next Evidence was a Paper, said to be of the Prisoner's 
writing, which was found in his Study. The Substance of which 



Zl$tvnon feiDtup, Qfefq* 73 

was an Enquiry into the Forms of Government, and Reasons of 
their Decays : The Rights of the People, and the Bounds of 
Soveraignty, and Original of Power. In which were those 
heinous, treasonable Expressions, [The King is subject to the 
Law of God as a Man, to the People who made him such, as a 
King, &c.] And examples of evil Kings and Tyrants, whom 
sometimes a Popular Fury had destroyed ; at others, the Ordines 
Regni either reduc'd, or set them aside, when their Government 
was a Curse instead of a Blessing to their People. Well, what 
Treason in all this, and a great deal more? Nothing but a 
Jesuit' s enchanted Telescope could have found any in it. If 
there were any Mistakes, as he says in his Speech, they ought to 
have been confuted by Law, Reason, and Scripture, not Scaf- 
folds and Axes. First, 'Twas not proved to be his writing, nor 
did he confess it ; Treason and Life are critical Things : One 
ought to be as fairly proved, as t'other to be cautiously proceeded 
against. Tho' he might write it, he had the Liberty of an 
Englishman, not to accuse himself : The very same Thing 
which was afterwards put in Practice by those Reverend Per- 
sons, who, later than he, and cheaper too, defended their Coun- 
tries Liberty with only the Loss of their own. But owning he 
writ it, How very few, if any Things therein, are not now gene- 
rally and almost universally believed, and are the Foundation of 
the Practice, and Satisfaction of the Conscience of every Man, 
tho' then confuted with the Single Brand of Common-wealth 
Principles, being indeed such as all the World must, whether 
they will or no, be forced into the Belief of, as soon as Oppres- 
sion and Tyranny bears hard upon 'em, and becomes really 
unsupportable ? But supposing they were now as wicked Prin- 
ciples as they were (called) then ; yet what was that to the then 
present Governors ? He answered Filmer for his own Satisfac- 
tion, or rather began to do it, many Years before the Makers of 
this Plot dreamt of that, or bringing him into it : Kept it private 
in his own Study, where it might have lain till Dooms- day, had 
not they fetch'd it out to make somewhat on't. 'Twas suggested, 
and Innuendo 'd, that this Book was written to scatter among the 
People, in Order to dispose 'em to rebel, as 'tis in the Indict- 
ment. But how ridiculous that is, any one will see who con- 
siders the Bulk of it, which was such, that, as he says in his 



74 *3p&e Wlz$mn 9^art^rolDo:^ 

Speech, [The fiftieth Part of the Book was not produced, nor the 
Tenth of that read, tho* de desired it, and 'twas usual; and yet 
after all, as it had never been shewn to any Man, so 'twas not 
finished, nor could be in many Years.] Now is this a Business 
likely to be calculated for a Rebellion; when it could neither be 
finished till several Years after 'twas over ; and besides, if it had, 
the Bulk made it so improper to be dispersed for that Purpose 
for which 'twas pretendedly designed ? No, those who are to 
poison a Nation in that Manner, know better Things, and more 
likely Ways. 'Tis to be done in little Pamphlets, and Papers 
easily read over, understood, and remembred, as the Declara- 
tion-Gentlemen t'other Day, very well knew. But still here 
being not a Syllable, in these Papers of King Charles, any more 
than of the King of Bantam, or the Great Mogul, against whom 
they might as well have made it Treason ; 'twas all supplied by 
a fine Knack, call'd an Innuendo, that is in English, such Inter- 
pretation as they would please to affix on his Words. Thus 
when he writes Tarquin, or Pepin, or Nero, they say, he meant 
King Charles; and so, scandalously of him, as well as wickedly 
of the Gentleman, make a Monster and a Ravisher of their King, 
and then take away another's Life for doing it. There was a 
Minister I have somewhere read of, who was accused for writing 
a libel against Queen Elizabeth, and her Government ; and the 
Fact there, 'tis true, lay as this does upon Innuendo's, though 
much more plain and pregnant. — But all the Punishment in- 
flicted on him, though thought severe enough, reached not his 
Head, the Loss of his Hand being thought sufficient, while with 
that which was left, he pulled off his Hat,, and prayed God to 
bless the Queen. — But this was under a mild Reign, and truly 
Protestant Government. 

As for my Lord Howard's Evidence, had the Jury been any 
but such as they were, and Sidney describes them, they would 
not have hang'd a Jesuite upon the Credit on't ; he having, one 
would think, that read the Trials, taken a Pride in damning 
himself deeper and deeper against every new Appearance in 
publick, on purpose to try the Skill and Face of the Council in 
bringing him off again. To the Evidence brought against him 
in my Lord RussePs Case, he had taken Care that these follow- 
ing should be addec}* 



jaigertton fefotwp, €<% 75 

The E. of Clare witnesses, that he said, after Sidney's Impri- 
sonment, if questioned again, He would never plead — (Had it 
not been a pleasant Thing for my Lord Howard to have been 
pressed to Death for not speaking?) And that he thought 
Colonel Sidney as innocent as any Man breathing ; Mr. Ducas 
says the same, so does my Lord Paget, and Mr. Edward, and 
Philip Howards, and Tracy, and Penwick, and Mr. Blake, that 
he said he had not his Pardon, and could not ascribe it to any 
Reason, but that he must not have it till the Drudgery of Swear- 
ing was over. 

But though there was no reasonable Answer could be given to 
all this ; tho' Sidney pleaded the Obligations my Lord Howard 
had to him, and the great Conveniency he might think there 
might be in his being hang'd, since he was some Hundreds of 
Pounds in his Debt, which would be the readiest Way of paying 
him ; and had besides, as it appeared, a great mind to have the 
Colonel's Plate secured at his own House ; tho' never Man in 
the World certainly ever talk'd stronger Sense, or better Reason, 
or more evidently batter'd the Judges, and left 'em nothing but 
Railing. — 'Twas all a Case with him, as well as the others ; and 
the Petty Jury could as easily have found him Guilty, without 
hearing his Trial, as the Grand Jury did, as soon as e'er they 
saw the Bill. Never was any thing more base and barbarous, 
than the summing up the Evidence and Directions to the Jury, 
who yet stood in no great Need of 'em : Nor more uncivil and 
sawcy a Reflection on the Noble Family and Name of the 
Sidneys than the Judges saying — That he was born a Traitor. 
Never any thing Braver, or more Manly, than his Remonstrance 
to the King for Justice, and another Trial : Nor lastly, more 
Roman, and yet truly Christian than his end. The Brave Old 
Man came up on a Scaffold, as unconcerned as if he had been 
going to fight, and as lively as if he had been a Russel. In his 
last Speech he gives almost all the Substance of all those Books 
which have been lately written in the Defence of the late Tram 
sactions, and no disgrace to 'em neither ; since Truth and Reason 
are eternal, and one and the same from all Pens and Parties, 
and at all Times ; however there may be some Times so bad, 
that they won't bear some Reason^ any more than some Doctrine. 
— He there says as much in a little as ever Man did— {That 



76 W$t Wit&tzvn 2t£artgrolog;p* 

Magistrates were set up for the good of Nations, not e contra.] 
If that be Treason, K. Charles the First is guilty on't against 
himself, who says the same Thing. [That the Power of Magis- 
trates is what the Laws of the Country make it : That those 
Laws and Oaths have the Force of a Contract, and if one Part 
is broken, f other ceases.] And other Maxims of the same Neces- 
sity and Usefulness. — He, besides this, gave a full Account of 
the Design of his Book, of his Trial, and the Injustice done him 
therein ; of the Jury's being packt, and important Points of Law 
over-ruled j and ends with a most Compendious Prayer, in which 
he desires God would forgive his Enemies, but keep 'em from 
doing any more Mischief — And then he laid down his Head, and 
went to Sleep. 

TO THE KING'S MOST EXCELLENT 
MAJESTY, 

The Humble Petition of Algernon Sidney, Esquire, 

Sheweth, 

That your Petitioner, after a long and close Imprisonment, 
was on the Seventh day of this Month, with a Guard of Soldiers 
brought into the Pallace-Yard, upon a Habeas Corpus directed 
to the Lieutenant of the Tower, before any Indictment had been 
exhibited against him : But while he was there detained, a Bill 
was exhibited and found ; whereupon he was immediately car- 
ried to the King's Bench, and there ArraignM In this Surprize 
he desired a Copy of the Indictment, and leave to make his 
Exceptions, or to put in a special Plea, and Council to frame it ; 
but all was denied him. He then offered a Special Plea ready 
ingross'd, which also was rejected without reading : And being 
threatned, that if he did not immediately plead guilty or not 
guilty, Judgment of High Treason should be entered, he was 
forced contrary to Law (as he supposes) to come, to a general 
issue in pleading not guilty. 

November 21. He was brought to his Trial, and the Indict- 
ment being perplexed and confused, so that neither he nor any 
of his Friends that heard it, could fully comprehend the Scope of 
it, he was wholly unprovided of all the Helps that the Law 



Algernon feftnup, Cfefq* 77 

allows to every Man for his Defence. Whereupon he did again 
desire a Copy, and produced an Authentick Copy of the Statute 
of 46 Ed. 3. whereby 'tis enacted, That every Man shall have a 
Copy of any Record that touches him in any manner, as well 
that which is for or against the King, as any other Person ; but 
could neither obtain a Copy of his Indictment, nor that the 
Statute should be read. 

The Jury by which he was tried, was not (as he is informed) 
summoned by the Bailiffs of the several Hundreds, in the usual 
and legal Manner, but names were agreed upon by Mr. Graham, 
and the Under- Sheriff, and Directions given to the Bailiffs to 
summon them : And being all so chosen, a Copy of the Pannel 
was of no Use to him. When they came to be called, he 
excepted against some for being your Majesty's Servants, which 
he hoped should not be returned, when he was prosecuted at 
your Majesty's Suit ; many more for not being Freeholders, 
which exceptions, he thinks, were good in Law ; and others 
were lewd and infamous Persons, not fit to be of any Jury : But 
all was over-ruled by the Lord Chief Justice, and your Petitioner 
forced to challenge them peremptorily, whom he found to be 
pickt out as most suitable to the Intentions of those who fought 
his Ruin ; whereby he lost the Benefit allowed him by Law of 
making his Exceptions, and was forced to admit of Mechanick 
Persons utterly unable to judge of such a Matter as was to be 
brought before them. This Jury being sworn, no Witness was 
produc'd who fixed any thing beyond Hearsay upon your Peti- 
tioner, except the Lord Howard, and them that swore to some 
Papers said to be found in his House, and offered as a second 
Witness, and written in an Hand like to that of your Petitioner. 

Your Petitioner produced Ten Witnesses, most of them of 
Eminent Quality, the others of Unblemisht Fame, to shew the 
Lord Howard's Testimony was inconsistent with what he had 
declared before (at the Trial of the Lord Russel) under the same 
Religious Obligation of an Oath, as if it had been legally ad- 
ministred. 

Your Petitioner did further endeavour to shew, That besides 
the Absurdity and Incongruity of his Testimony, he being guilty 
of many Crimes which he did not pretend your Petitioner had 
any Knowledge of, and having no other Hope of Pardon, than 



78 Cfje Wltmvn S^attprolog^ 

by the Drudgery of swearing against him, he deserved not to be 
believed. And Similitude of Hands could be no Evidence, as 
was declared by the Lord Chief Justice Keiling, and the whole 
Court in the Lady Carr's Case ; so as that no Evidence at all 
remained against him. 

That whosoever wrote those Papers, they were but a small 
Part of a Polemical Discourse in Answer to a Book written 
about Thirty Years ago, upon general Propositions, applied to 
no Time, nor any particular Case ; That it was impossible to 
judge of any Part of it, unless the whole did appear, which did 
not ; That the Sense of such Parts of it as were produced, could 
not be comprehended, unless the whole had been read, which 
was denied ; That the Ink and Paper sheweth them to be writ 
many Years ago ; That the Lord Howard not knowing of them, 
they could have no Concurrence with what your Petitioner is 
said to have designed with him and others ; That the Confusion 
and Errors in the writing shewed they had never been so much 
as reviewed, and being written in an Hand that no Man could 
well read, they were not fit for the Press, nor could be in some 
Years, though the Writer of them had intended it, which did not 
appear. But they being only the present crude and private 
Thoughts of a Man, for the Exercise of his own Understanding 
in his Studies, and never shewed to any, or applied to any par- 
ticular Case, could not fall under the Statute of 25 Ed. 3. which 
takes Cognizance of no such Matter, and could not by Construc- 
tion be brought under it ; such Matters being thereby reserved 
to the Parliament, as is declared in the Proviso, which he desired 
might be read, but was refused. 

Several important Points of Law did hereupon emerge, upon 
which your Petitioner, knowing his own Weakness, did desire 
that Council might be heard, or they might be referred to be 
found specially. But all was over-ruled by the Violence of the 
Lord Chief Justice, and your Petitioner so frequently interrupted, 
that the whole Method of his Defence was broken, and he not 
suffered to say the Tenth Part of what he could have alledged 
in his Defence. So the Jury was hurried into a Verdict they 
did not understand. 

Now, for as much as no Man that is oppressed in England, 
can have Relief, unless it be from your Majesty, your Petitioner 



jaiprnort fefonep, Qfeq* 79 

humbly prays, that the Premises considered, your Majesty 
would be pleased to admit him into your Presence ; and if he 
doth not shew, that 'tis for your Majesty's Interest and Honour 
to preserve him from the said Oppression, he will not complain 
though he be left to be destroyed. 

An Abstract of the Paper delivered to the Sheriffs on 
the Scaffold on Tower-Hill, December 7. 1683. by 
Algernon Sidney, Esquire, before his Execution. 

First having excused his not speaking, as well because it was 
an age that made Truth pass for Treason, for the Proof of 
which, he instances his Trial and Condemnation, and that the 
Ears of some present were too tender to hear it, as because of 
the Rigour of the Season, and his Infirmities, &*c. then after a 
short Reflection upon the little said against him by other Wit- 
nesses, and the little Value that was to be put on the Lord 
Howard's Testimony, whom he charges with an Infamous Life, 
and many palpable Perjuries, and to have been byassed only by 
the Promise of Pardon, &>c. and makes, even tho' he had been 
liable to no Exceptions, to have been but a single Witness : He 
proceeds to answer the Charge against him from the writings 
found in his Closet by the King's Officers, which were pretended, 
but not lawfully evidenced to be his, and pretends to prove, that 
had they been his, that they contained no Condemnable Matter, 
but Principles, more safe both to Princes and people too, than 
the pretended high-flown plea tor Absolute Monarchy, composed 
by Filmer, against which, they seemed to be levelled ; and 
which, he says, all intelligent Men thought were founded on 
wicked Principles, and such as were destructive both to Magis- 
trates, and People too. Which he attempts to make out after 
this manner. 

First, says he, if Filmer might publish to the World, That 
Men were born under a necessary indispensable Subjection to an 
Absolute King, who could be restrained by no Oath, &*c. whether 
he came to it by Creation, Inheritance, &r*c. nay, or even by 
Usurpation ? Why might he not publish his Opinion to the con- 
trary, without the Breach of any known Law ? W T hich Opinion 
he professes, consisted in the following Particulars. 



80 Wit Mt$mn S^artprolDg:^ 

I. That God had left Nations at the Liberty of modelling their 
own Governments. 

1. That Magistrates were instituted for Nations, and not 
e contra. 

3. That the Right and Power of Magistrates was fixed by the 
standing Laws of each country. 

4. That those Laws sworn to on both Sides, were the Matter 
of a Contract between the Magistrate and People, and could not 
be broken without the Danger of dissolving the whole Govern- 
ment. • 

5. That Usurpation could give no Right ; and that Kings had 
no greater Enemies than those who asserted that, or were for 
stretching their Power beyond its Limits. 

6. That such Usurpations commonly effecting the Slaughter 
of the Reigning Person, &c. the worst of Crimes was thereby 
most gloriously rewarded. 

7. That such Doctrines are more proper to stir up Men to 
destroy Princes, than all the Passions that ever yet swayed the 
worst of them, and that no Prince could be safe, if his Murderers 
may hope such Rewards ; and that few Men would be so gentle 
as to spare the Best Kings, if by their Destruction a wild Usur- 
per could become God's Anointed, which he says was the Scope 
of that whole Treatise, and asserts to be the Doctrine of the best 
Authors of all Nations, Times, and Religions; and of the Scrip- 
ture, and so owned by the best and wisest Princes, and particu- 
larly by Lewis \\th oi France, in his Declaration against Spain, 
Anno 1667. and by King James of England, in his Speech to 
Parliament 1603, and adds, that if the Writer had been mistaken, 
he should have been fairly refuted, but that no Man was ever 
otherwise punished for such Matters, or any such Things referred 
to a Jury, &>c. That the Book was never finished, &>c. nor ever 
seen by them whom he was charged to have endeavoured by it 
to draw into a Conspiracy : That nothing in it was particularly 
or maliciously applied to Time, Place, or Person, but distorted 
to such a Sense by Innuendo's, as the Discourses of the Expul- 
sion of Tarquin, &c. and particularly of the Translation made 
of the Crown of France from one Race to another, had been 
then applied by the then Lawyers Innuendo's to the then King 
of England; never considering, adds he, that if such Acts of 



Algernon fefonep, (Egq* 81 

State be not allowed good, no Prince in the World has any Title 
to his Crown, and having by a short Reflection shown the Ridicu- 
lousness of deriving Absolute Monarchy, from Patriarchal Power, 
he appeals to all the World, whether it would not be more 
advantagious to all Kings, to own the Derivation of their Power 
to the Consent of willing Nations, than to have no better Title 
than Force, S^c. which may be over-powered. 

But notwithstanding the Innocence and Loyalty of that Doc- 
trine, he says, He was told he must die, or the Plot must die, 
and complains, that in Order to the destroying the Best Protes- 
tants of England, the Bench was filled with such as had been 
Blemishes to the Bar; and instances, how, against Law, they 
had advised with the King's Council about bringing him to 
Death, suffered a Jury to be ftackt by the King's Sollicitors, and 
the Under-Sheriff admitted fury-?nen no Free-holders, received 
Evidence not valid; refused him a Copy of his Indictment, or to 
suffer the Acts of the 46th of Ed. 3. to be read, that allows it had 
over-ruled the most Important Points of Law, without hearing, 
and assumed to themselves a Power to make Constructions of 
. Treason, though against Law, Sense, and Reason, which by the 
Stat, of the i$th of Ed. 3, by which they pretended to Try him, 
was reserved only to the Parliament; and so praying God to 
forgive them, and to avert the Evils that threatned the Nation, 
to sanctifie those Sufferings to him, and tho' he fell a Sacrifice to 
Idols, not to suffer Idolatry to be established in this Land, &c. 
He concludes with a Thanksgiving, that God had singled him 
out to be a Witness of his Truth, and for that Good Old Cause, 
in which from his Youth he had been engaged, &*c. 

His Epitaph. 

Algernon Sidney fills this Tomb, 
An Atheist by declaiming Romej 
A Rebel bold, by striving still 
To keep the Laws above the Will ; 
And hindring those would pull them down, 
To leave no Limits to a Crown. 
Crimes damn'd by Church and Government, 
Oh whither must his Soul be sent ! 

G 



82 %ty Mtgmn Q£)artptoloa;£> 

Of Heaven it must needs despair, 
If that the Pope be Turn-key there ; 
And Hell can ne'er it entertain, 
For there is all Tyrannick Reign, 
And Purgatory's such a Pretence, 
As ne'er deceiv'd a Man of Sense. 
Where goes it then? Where't ought to go, 
Where Pope and Devil have nought to do. 

His Character. 

There's no Need of any more than reading his Trial and 
Speech, to know him as well as if he stood before us. That he 
was a Person of extraordinary Sense, and very close thinking, 
which he had the Happiness of being able to express in Words 
as manly and apposite as the sense included under 'em. He 
was owner of as much Vertue and Religion, as Sense and Rea- 
son ; tho' his Piety lay as far from Enthusiasm as any Man's. 
He feared nothing but God, and loved nothing on earth like his 
Country, and the just Liberties and Laws thereof, whose Consti- 
tutions he had deeply and successfully inquired into. To sum 
up all, He had Piety enough for a Saint, Courage enough for a 
General or a Martyr, Sense enough for a Privy- Counsellor, and 
Soul enough for a King ; and in a Word, if ever any, he was a 
perfect English-man. 



MR. JAMES HOLLO WAY. 

R. Holloway was by Trade a Merchant; but his 
greatest Dealing lay in Linen Manufacture, which, 
as appears from his Papers, he had brought to such 
a H eighth here in England, as, had it met with 
suitable encouragement, would, as he made it appear, have em- 
ployed 80000 Poor People, and 40000 Acres of Land, and be 
200000 Pounds a Year Advantage to the Publick Revenues of 
the Kingdom. The Return of the Habeas Corpus Writ calls 
him, [Late of London, Merchant] though he lived mostly at 




9®v+ 3|ame<s ^ollotoap. 83 

Bristol. He seems to be a Person of Sense, Courage, and 
Vivacity of Spirit, and a Man of Business. — All we can have of 
him is from that publick Print called his Narrative, concerning 
which it must be remembred, as before, that we have no very 
firm Authority to assure us all therein contained was his own 
writing ; and perhaps it might be thought convenient he should 
die, for Fear he might contradict some Things published in his 
Name. But on the other Side, where he contradicts the other 
Witnesses, his Evidence is strong, since be sure that was not 
the Interest of the Managers to invent of their own Accords ; 
tho' some Truth they might utter, though displeasing, to gain 
Credit to the rest. Taking Things however as we find 'em, 'twill 
be convenient for Method's Sake to take Notice first of the 
Proceedings against him, then of some pretty plain Footsteps of 
Practice upon him, and shuffling dealing in his Case ; and lastly, 
of several Things considerable in his Narrative. 

He was accused for the Plot, as one who was acquainted with 
West, Rumsey, and the rest ; and having been really present at 
their Meetings and Discourses on that Subject, absconded when 
the publick News concerning the Discovery came into the 
Country ; tho' this, as he tells the King, more for Fear, that if 
he was taken up, his creditors would never let him come out of 
Goal, than any thing else. After some Time he got to Sea in a 
little Vessel, went over to France, and so to the West-Indies, 
among the Caribbe- 1 stands, where much of his Concerns lay : 
But writing to his Factor at Nevis, he was by him treacherously 
betrayed, and seized by the Order of Sir Willia7n Stapleton, and 
thence brought Prisoner to England, where after Examination, 
and a Confession of at least all he knew, having been Outlawed 
in his absence on an Indictment of Treason ; he was on the 
2 1st of April, 1684. brought to the King's Bench, to shew Cause 
why Execution could not be awarded against him, as is usual in 
that Case? He opposed nothing against it, only saying, [/fan 
ingenuous Confession of Truth could merit the Kings Pardon, 
he hoped he had done it.] The Attorney being called for, ordered 
the Indictment to be read, and gave him the Offer of a Trial, 
waving the Outlawry, which he refused, and threw himself on 
the King's Mercy. On which Execution was awarded, tho' the 
Attorney, who had not so much Law even as Jeffreys, was for 

G 2 



84 %%t Wlz&ma 9£artprolog;^ 

having Judgment first past against him, which is never done in 
such Cases, according to which he was executed at Tyburn the 
30th of April. 

It seemed strange to all Men, that a Man of so much Spirit, 
as Mr. Hollow ay appeared to be, should so tamely die without 
making any manner of Defence, when that Liberty was grafted 
him : It seemed as strange, or yet stranger, that any Protestant 
should have any thing that lookt like Mercy or Favour from 
the Persons then at the Helm, [That they should be so gra- 
cious to him as 'tis there called, to admit him to a Trial, 
which lookt so generously, and was so cried up — the Attorney 
calling it \A Mercy and a Grace'] and the Lord Chief Justice 
saying, He'd assure him 'twas a great Mercy, and that it 
was exceeding well. Now all this Blind or Mystery will 
be easily unriddled, by two or three Lines which Hollow ay 
speaks just after, [My Lord, says he, / cannot undertake to de- 
fend my self, for I have confessed before his Majesty, that I am 
guilty of many Things in that Indictment^ Which was imme- 
diately made Use of as 'twas designed — Good Mr. Justice With- 
ens crying out full mouth'd, / hope every Body here will take 
Notice of his open Confession, when he might try it if he would 
— Surely none but will believe this Conspiracy now, after what 
this Man has owned.] So there's an End of all the Mercy — A 
Man who had before confess'd in order to be hang'd, had gra- 
cious Liberty given him to confess it again in Publick, because 
they knew he had precluded all Manner of Defence before, and 
this publick Action would both get 'em the Repute of Clemency, 
and confirm the Belief of the Plot. Now that there had been 
Practice used with him, and Promises of Pardon, if he'd take 
this Method, and own himself guilty without Pleading, is more 
than probable, both from other Practices of the same Nature 
used towards Greater Men, and from some Expressions of his 
which look exceeding fair that Way. Thus in his Paper left 
behind him, [/ had, he says, some other Reasons why I did not 
plead, which at present I conceal, as also why I did not speak 
what I intended?] Other Reasons, besides his Confession to 
His Majesty, and Reasons to be concealed. Now what should 
those be but Threatnings and Promises, to induce him to 
Silence, and publick Acknowledgment of all ? Which appears 



9£r* 9|ame0 ^ollotoap* 85 

yet plainer from another Passage, \_I am satisfied that all Means 
which could be thought on have been used, to get as mtich out of 
me as possible.] If all Means, then without straining, those 
before mentioned. 

But if he made so fair and large an Acknowledgment, here's 
more Mystery still ; Why wasn't his Life spared ? Let any read 
his Confession and Speech, or these Passages observed out of 
them, and he'll no longer wonder at it. He was a little squeasie- 
conscienced, and would not strain so far as others in accusing 
Men of those black Crimes whereof they were innocent ; nay, as 
was before said, vindicating them from those Assertions cast 
upon them, and for which some of them, particularly my Lord 
Russel, suffered death. He says, [The Assassination was carried 
on but by Three or Four, and could never hear so much as the 
Names of above Five for it — That he and others had declared 
their Abhorrence of any such Thing — That Ferguson was not in 
it.] And besides, speaks some Things with the Liberty of an 
Englishman, shews the very Root of all those Heats which had 
been raised — Says what was true enough, [That the Protestant 
Gentry had a Notion of a Devilish Design of the Papists to cut 
off the King's Friends, and stirring Men in both last Parlia- 
ments ; That they had long had Witnesses to swear them out of their 
Lives, but no Juries to believe 'em; That now the Point about 
the Sheriffs was gained, that Difficulty was over; That the King 
had bad Council about him who kept all Things from his Know- 
ledge j That if Things continued thus, the Protestant Gentry re- 
solved to get the King from his Evil Council, and then hed 
immediately be of their Side, and suffer all Popish Offenders to 
be brought to Justice^] Hence 'twas plain, no Assassination, 
no Plot against the King and Government intended ; only 
Treason against the Duke of York and the Papists, who were 
themselves Traitors by Law. But yet one bolder Stroak than 
all this, [He prays the Kings Eyes might be opened, to see his 
Enemies from his Friends, whom he had Cause to look for nearer 
home.'] Was a Man to expect Pardon after this ? — No certainly, 
which he soon himself grew sensible of, and prepared for Death, 
[the Council, as he says, taking it very heinously that he should 
presume to write such Things.] 

As for what Sheriff Daniel urges, That what he said about the 



86 W$z a&iegJtertt S^artgrDlag?. 

King were but Glossy Pretences; He answers him very well, 
That 'twas far otherwise. Here was plain Matter of Fact : The 
Kingdom in eminent Danger, the Fit just coming on, which has 
since so near shaken to pieces all the Frame of Church and 
State, which has so many Years been rising to this Compleat- 
ness: Ordinary Ways and usual Remedies could not prevail; 
these Protestants were forced to betake themselves to extraor- 
dinary, in Defence of the Government and Laws, and not against 
'em, any more than 'twould have been to have taken Arms, and 
rescued the King from a Troop of Banditti, who had got Pos- 
session of his Person; the Papists who had him, being as 
visibly and notoriously obnoxious to the Government, and as 
dead Men in Law, most of 'em, as Publick Thieves and Rob- 
bers. Thus much of Mr. Hollow ay, the Popish tender Mercy 
towards him, his Confession and Execution. 

Mr. Holloway declared, that Mr. West proposed the Assassi- 
nation, but none seconded him — That he could not perceive 
that Mr. Ferguson knew anything of it ; and Holloway said, 
It was our design to shed no Blood j He being interrogated, 
by Mr. Ferguson's Friend, Mr. Sheriff Daniel, whether he knew 
Ferguson j He answered, That he did know him, but knew 
him to be against any Design of killing the King, 




SIR THOMAS ARMSTRONG. 

UT the next had not so fair Play, because they knew 
he'd make better Use on't. They had this Lion in 
the Toils, and did not intend to let him loose 
again to make Sport, lest the Hunters themselves 
should come off ill by it. He had been all his Life a firm 
Servant and Friend to the Royal Family, in their Exile and 
afterwards; He had been in Prison for 'em under Cromwel, and 
in Danger both of Execution and Starving ; for all which they 
now rewarded him. He had a particular Honour and Devotion 
for the Duke of Monmouth, and pusht on his Interest on all 



&fr %l)oma$ arrngtrong;* 87 

Occasions, being a Man of as undaunted English Courage, as 
ever our Country produced. He was with the Duke formerly 
in his Actions in Flanders, and shared there in his Danger and 
Honour. His Accusation was, his being concerned in the 
General Plot, and that too of Killing the King ; but he was in- 
deed hanged for running away, and troubling 'em to send so far 
after him. The Particulars pretended against him, were what 
the Lord Howard witnessed in RusseVs Trial, [Of his going to 
kill the King when their first Design failed.] But this was 
there only a Supposal, though advanced into a formed Accusa- 
tion, and aggravated by the Attorney, as the Reason why he had 
a Trial denied him, when Holloway had one offered, both of 'em 
being alike Outlawed. On which Outlawry Sir Thomas was 
kidnapt in Holland, and brought over hither in Chains, and 
robbed by the Way into the Bargain. Being brought up, and 
askt what he had to say, that Sentence should not pass 
upon him, he pleaded the 6th of Ed. 6, wherein 'tis provided 
[That if a Person Outlawed render himself in a Year after the 
Outlawry pronounced; and traverse his Indictment, and shall be 
acquitted on his Trial, he shall be discharged of the Outlawry.'] 
On which he accordingly then and there made a formal Sur- 
render of himself to the Lord Chief Justice, and askt the Benefit 
of the Statute, and a fair Trial for his Life, the Year not being 
yet expired. If ever any thing could appear plain to common 
Sense, 'twas his Case. The Statute allows a Year's Time, the 
Year was not out, he surrendered himself, demands the Benefit 
of it; and all the Answer he could get, or Reason to the con- 
trary, was the positive Lord Chief Justice's, [ We dortt think so, 
and we are of another Opinion^] Nay, could not have so much 
Justice as to have Counsel allowed to plead it, tho' the Point suf- 
ficiently deserved it, and here was the Life of an Old Servant of 
the King's concerned in it. When he still pleaded, That a little 
while before, one, meaning Holloway, had the Benefit of a Trial 
offered him, if 'he'd accept it, and that was all he now desired. 
The Lord Chief Justice answers, That was only the Gra'ce and 
Mercy of the King. The Attorney adds, The King did indulge 
Holloway so far as to offer hi?n a Trial, and his Majesty perhaps 
might have some Reason for it : The very self-same same Rea- 
son, no Doubt on't, which Holloway says he had for not pleading. 



88 %$t WLt&mn fl^attjcolofl^ 

But Sir Thomas (the Attorney goes on) deserved no Favour, 
because he was one of the Persons that actually engaged to go, on 
the King's hasty cojning from New-market, and destroy him by 
the Way as he came to Town; and that this appeared upon as 
full and clear Evidence, and as positively testified, as any Thing 
could be, and this in the Evidence given in of the late horrid 
Conspiracy^] Now Pd fain know who gives this clear and full 
Evidence in the Discovery of the Conspiracy ? Howard's is 
meer Supposition, and he's all who so much as mentions a 
Syllable on't, that ever could be found on Search of all the 
Papers and Trials relating to that Affair. To this Sir Thomas 
answers in his Speech, [That had he co?ne to his Trial, he could 
have proved my Lord Howard's base Reflections on him to be a 
notorious Falshood, there being at least Ten Gentlemen, besides 
all the Servants in the House, could testifie where he dined that 
very Day.] 

Still Sir Thomas demanded the Benefit of the Law, and no 
more : To which Jeffreys answered, with one of his usual bar- 
barous Insults over the Miserable, [That he should have it by the 
Grace of God; ordering, That Execution be done on Friday next 
according to Law. And added, That he should have the full 
Benefit of the Law:] Repeating the Jest, lest it should be lost, as 
good as three times in one Sentence. Tho' had not his Lordship 
slipt out of the World so slily, he had had as much Benefit the 
same Way, and much more justly than this Gentleman. 

Then the Chief Justice proceeds, and tells him, We are satis- 
fied that according to Law, we must award Execution upon this 
Outlawry : Thereupon Mrs. Mathews, Sir Thomas's daughter, 
said, My Lord, I hope you will not Mtirther my Father: For 
which, being Browbeaten and Checkt, she added, God Almighty's 
Judgments Light upon YOU. 

The Friday after he was brought to the Place of Execution, 
Dr. Tennison being with him, and on his Desire, after he had 
given what he had to leave, in a Paper, to the Sheriff, prayed a 
little while with him. He then prayed by himself; and after 
having thanked the Doctor for his great Care and Pains with 
him, submitted to the Sentence, and died more composedly, and 
full as resolutely as he had lived. 'Tis observable, that more 
Cruelty was exercised on him than any who went before him, 



&fr ^Ijoma0 armgttong;. 89 

not only in the Manner of his Death, but the exposing his 
Limbs and Body : A fair Warning what particular Gratitude a 
Protestant is to expect for having obliged a true Papist. 

Another Thing worth remembering, in all other Cases as well 
as this, tho' Occasion is here taken to do it, is, That whereas in 
Hollow ay's Case, Jeffreys observed, [That not one of all con- 
cerned in this Conspiracy had dared to deny it; and lower, to 
deny the Truth of the Fact absolutely^] ; Tis so far from being 
true, that every one who suffered, did it as absolutely as possible. 
They were Tried or Sentenced for \_Conspiring against the King 
and Government] that was their Plot; but this they all deny, and 
absolutely too; and safely might do it: For they consulted for it, 
not conspired against it, resolving not to touch the King's Per- 
son; nay, if possible, not to shed one Drop of Blood of any other, 
as Hollow ay and others say. For the King's Life, Sir Tho?nas 
says as the Lord Russel, [Never had any Man the Impudence to 
propose so base- and barbarous a Thing to him.] Russel, and 
almost all besides, say, They had never any Design against the 
Government. Sir Thomas here says the same, [As he never had 
any Design against the King's Life, nor the Life of any Man, so 
he never had any Design to alter the Monarchy i] 

As he lived, he says, he died a sincere Protestant, and in the 
Communion of the Church of England, tho' he heartily wished 
he had more strictly lived up to the Religion he believed. And 
tho' he had but a short Time, he found himself prepared for 
Death; and indeed, as all his Life shew'd him a Man of Courage, 
so his Death, and all the rest of his Behaviour, did, a Penitent 
Man, a Man of good Sense, and a good Christian. 

At the Place of Execution, Sir Thomas Armstrong deported 
himself with Courage becoming a great Man, and with the 
Seriousness and Piety suitable to a very good Christian, 

Sheriff Daniel told him, he had Leave to say what he pleased, 
and should not be interrupted, unless he upbraided the Govern- 
ment; Sir Thomas thereupon told him, that he should not say 
anything by way of Speech; but delivered him a Paper, which 
he said contained his Mind ; he then called for Dr. Tennison, 
who prayed with him, and then he prayed himself. 

In his Paper he thus expressed himself, That he thanked 
Almighty God he found himself prepared for Death, his 



Thoughts set upon another World, and weaned fro7n this; yet 
he could not but give so much of his Utile Time as to answer 
some Calumnies, and particularly what Mr. Attorney accused 
him of at the Bar. 

That he prayed to be allowed a Trial for his Life according 
to the Laws of the Land, and urged the Statute of Edward 6, 
which was expressly for it ; but it signified nothing, and. he 
was with a7i extraordinary Roughness condemned, and made 
a Precedent ; tho' Holloway had it offered him, and he could 
not but think all the World would conclude his Case very dif- 
ferent, else why refused to him ? 

That Mr. Attorney charged him for being one of those that 
w r ere to kill the King; He took God to witness, that he never had 
a Thought to take away the King } s Life, and that no Man ever had 
the Impudence to propose so base and barbarous a Thing to himj 
and that he never was in any design to alter the Government. 

That if he had been tried, he could have proved the Lord 
Howard's base Reflections upon him to be notoriously false — 
He concluded, that he had lived, and now died of the Reformed 
Religion, a Protestant in the Communion of the Church of 
England, and he heartily wished he had lived ?nore strictly up 
to the Religion he believed : That he had found the great 
Comfort of the Love and Mercy of God, in and through his 
blessed Redeemer, in whom he only trusted, and verily hoped 
he was going to partake of that Fulness of Joy which is in his 
Presence, the Hopes whereof infinitely pleased him. He thanked 
God he had no repining, but chearfully submitted to the Punish- 
ment of his Sins; He freely forgave all the World, even those 
concerned in taking away his Life, tho y he could not but think 
his Sentence very hard, he beifig denied the Laws of the Land. 

On the Honourable Sir Thomas Armstrong, Executed 

June 20. 1684. 
Hadst thou abroad found Safety in thy flight, 
Th* Immortal Honour had not shin'd so bright. 
Thou hadst been still a worthy Patriot thought; 
But now thy Glory's to perfection brought. 
In Exile, and in Death to England true : 
What more could Brutus, or just Cato do ? 




9i 
ALDERMAN CORNISH. 

O make an End of this Plot altogether, 'twill be 
necessary once more to invert the Order in which 
Things happened, and tho' Mr. Cornish suffered not 
till after the Judges returned from the West, as well 
as Bat email after him, yet we shall here treat of 'em both, and 
so conclude this Matter. 

Mr. Cornish was seized in October, 1685, and the Monday 
after his Commitment, which was on Tuesday or Friday, Ar- 
raigned for High Treason, having no Notice given him till 
Saturday noon. His Charge was for Conspiring to* kill the 
King, and promising to assist the Duke 0/* Monmouth, &*c., 
in their Treasonable Enterprises. He desired his Trial might 
be deferred, because of his short Time for Preparation ; and 
that he had a considerable Witness an Hundred and Forty Miles 
off, and that the King had left it to the Judges, whether it should 
be put off or no. But 'twas denied him; the Attorney telling 
him, He had not deserved so well of the Government as to have 
his Trial delayed. That was in English, because he had been 
a Protestant Sheriff, he should not have Justice. 

The Evidences against him were Rumsey and Goodenough. 
Rumsey swears, [That when he was at the famous Meeting 
at Mr. Shepherd's, Mr. Shepherd being called down, brought 
up Mr. Cornish ; and when he was come in, Ferguson 
opened his Bosom, and under his Stomacher pulled out a Paper 
in the Nature of a Declaration of Grievances, which Ferguson 
read, and Shepherd held the Candle while 'twas reading j that 
Mr. Cornish liked it, and what Interest he had, said, would join 
with it j and that out of Compassion he had not accused Mr. 
Cornish before^] 

Goodenough swears, That he talkt with Cornish of the Design 
of seizing the Tower. Mr. Cornish said, He would do what 
good he could, or to that purpose. 

To Goodenough 's Evidence was opposed Mr. Gosprighfs, who 
testified Mr. Cornish opposed his being Under-Sheriff, saying, 
That he was an ill Man, obnoxious to the Government, and he'd 
not trust an Hair of his Head with him. And is it then 



92 C&e Wimttn flpartproloffp* 

probable that he'd have such Discourses with him as would 
endanger Head and all ? Mr. Love, Jekil, and Sir William 
Turner, witness to the same Purpose. 

As to Rumsefs Evidence, the Perjury lyes so full and staring, 
that 'tis impossible to look into the Trial with half an Eye with- 
out meeting it. Compare what he says on RusseVs Trial, and 
here, and this will be as visible as the Sun. Being askt there, 
Whether there was any Discourse about a Declaration, and how 
long he staid ; he says, [He was there about a Quarter of an 
Hour, ancl that he was not certain whether he heard something 
about a Declaration there, or whether he had heard Ferguson 
report afterwards, that they had then debated it.] Now turn to 
Cornish? s Trial, he is there strangely recovered in his Memory, 
and having had the Advantage, either of Recollection, or better 
Instruction, remembers that distinctly in October 1685, which 
he could not in July 1683. [He had been there a Quarter of 
an Hour] the Time he states in the Lord RusseVs Trial, but 
lengthens it out, and improves it now, to so long Time as Mr. 
Shepherd's going down, bringing Cornish up, Ferguson's pulling 
out the Declaration, and reading it, and that, as Shepherd said 
in RusseVs Trial, a long one too, as certainly it must be, if, as 
'twas sworn, it contained all the Grievances of the Nation, and 
yet all this still in a Quarter of an Hour; thus contradicting 
himself both to Time and Matter. 

But he is of such Villanous Credit, that his Evidence is scarce 
fit to be taken even against himself. Let's see then how Shep- 
herd does Point-blank contradict, and absolutely overthrow it in 
every Particular, as expressly as 'tis possible to ruin any Evi- 
dence. He says, [At one Meeting only Mr. Cornish was at his 
House to speak with one of the Persons there j that then he hi?n- 
self came upstairs, and went out again with Mr. Cornish. 
That there was not one Word read, nor any paper seen while 
Mr. Cornish was there, and this he was positive of for Mr. 
Cornish was not one of their Company 7[ 

Now who should know best, Rumsey what Shepherd did, or he 
what he did himself ? Could a Man hold the Candle while a 
Declaration was read, as Rumsey swears Shepherd did, and 
yet know nothing of it, nay, protest the quite contrary ? What 
Sizes the Consciences of his Jury were, let any Christian, Turk, 



jaiDtrman Cornfertj* 93 

or Jew, be Judge ; and Providence has already visibly done it 
on the Foreman of it, who came to an untimely End, being 
beaten to Pieces by the Fall of some Timber at a Fire in 
Thames-street. 

All that is pretended to bolster Rumseys Evidence, and hinder 
Shepherd's from saving the Prisoner, was, That Shepherd strength- 
e7ied Rumsey, and proved Cornish guilty of a Lie. But if we 
enquire into the Matter, we shall find one just as true as the other. 

Cornish on his Trial is said to have denied his being at the 
Meeting, and discoursing with the Duke of Monmouth. Which 
they'd have us believe Shepherd swears he was, tho' not a 
Syllable of it appears. \He had been there several Times ; Shep- 
herd says, but was not of their Consult, knew nothing of their 
Business, nor can he be positive whether 'twas the Duke of 
Monmouth he came to speak with that Evening^ But sup- 
posing in two or three Years Time, and on so little Recollection, 
Cornish's Memory had slipt in that Circumstance, what's that to 
Shepherd's Evidence against the very Root of Rumseys which 
hang'd the Prisoner ? 

In Spight of all he was found Guilty, and Condemned, and 
even that Christian Serenity of Mind and Countenance, where- 
with 'twas visible he bore his Sentence, turned to his Reproach 
by the Bench. 

He continued in the same excellent Temper whilst in Newgate, 
and gave the World a glaring Instance of the Happiness of such 
Persons as live a Pious Life, when they come to make an End 
on't, let the Way thereof be never so violent. His Carriage and 
Behaviour at his leaving Newgate was as follows. 

Some Passages of Henry Cornish, Esq, before his 

Sufferings. 

Coming into the Press-yard, and feeling the Halter in the 
Officer's Hand, he said, Is this for me ? The Officer answered, 
Yes ; he replied, Blessed be God, and kissed it ; and after said, 
O blessed be God for Newgate, I have enjoyed God ever since I 
came within these Walls, and blessed be God who hath made me 
fit to die. I am now going to that God that will not be mocked, 
to that God that will not be imposed upon, to that God that 



94 %^t WXzgmn S^attprologp* 

knows the Innocency of his poor Creature, And a little after he 
said, Never did any poor Creatttre cojne unto God with greater 
confidence in his Mercy, and Assurance of Acceptation with him, 
through Jesus Christ, than I do; but it is through Jesus Christ, 
for there is no other Way of coming to God but by him, to find 
Acceptance with him : There is no other Name given under 
Heaven whereby we can be saved, but the Name of Jesus. Then 
speaking to the Officers, he said, Labour every one of you to be 
fit to die, for I tell you, you are not fit to die : I was not fit to die 
myself before I came hither; but O blessed be God, he hath made 
me fit to die, and hath made me willing to die ! In a few 
Moments I shall have the Fruition of the Blessed Jesus, and 
that not for a Day, but for ever. I am going to the Kingdom of 
God, where I shall enjoy the Presence of God the Father, and of 
God the Son, and of God the Holy Spirit, and of all the Holy 
Angels j 1 am going to the general Assembly of the First-born, 
and of the Spirits of Just Men made perfect : O that God 
should ever do so much for me ! that God should concern 
himself so much for poor Creatures, for their Salvation, blessed 
be his Name ! For this was the Design of God from all 
Ftemity, to give his only Son to die for poor miserable Sinners, 
Then the Officers going to tie his Hands, he said, What, must I 
be tied then ? Well, a Brown Thred might have served the 
Turn; you need not tie me at all, I shall not stir from you, for 
I thank God I am not afraid to die. As he was going out, he 
said, Farewel, Newgate; farewel all my Fellow-Prisoners here; 
the Lord comfort you, the Lord be with you all. 

Thus much for his Behaviour in the Way to his Martyrdom. 
The Place of it was most spitefully and ignominiously ordered, 
almost before his own Door, and near Guildhall, to scare any 
good Citizen from appearing vigorously in the Discharge of his 
Duty for his Country's Service, by his Example. If any thing 
was wanting in his Trial, from the Haste of it, for -the clearing 
his Innocency, he sufficiently made it up in solemn Assevera- 
tions thereof on the Scaffold: [God is my Witness, says he, the 
Crimes laid to my Charge were falsly and maliciously sworn 
against me by the Witnesses ; for I never was at any Consult, 
nor any Meeting where Matters against the Govermnent were 
discoursed of] He adds, [/ never heard or read any Declaration 



#I&erman Comtek 95 

tending that Way.'] Again, [As for the Crimes for which I 
suffer, Upon the Words of a dying Man, Pm altogether Inno- 
cent.] Lower he adds, [He died as he had lived, in the Com- 
munion of the Church of England, in whose Ordinances he had 
been often a Partaker, and now felt the Blessed Effects thereof in 
these his Agonies.] 

He was observed by those who stood near the Sledge, to have 
solemnly, several Times, averred his absolute Innocence of 
any Design against the Government, and particularly that 
which he died for. 

There were some persons, who are sufficiently known, who 
were present at, and exprest a great deal of barbarous Joy at his 
Death : The open Publication of their Names is here spared, in 
Hopes they have or will repent of so unmanly and unchristian 
a Behaviour ; tho' some of them then were so confounded with 
his Constancy and Chearful Bravery, as wickedly to report, 
That he was Drunk or Mad when he died. His Quarters were 
set up on Guildhall, in Terrorejn, and for the same Reason, no 
doubt, before mentioned, for which he was executed so near it. 
There was such a terrible Storm the Day of his Death, as has 
scarce been known in the Memory of Man ; and will never be 
forgot by those who were in it ; ten or a dozen Ships being 
founder'd, or stranded in one Road, and a vast many more in 
other Places. And as Heaven then did him Justice, and 
vindicated his Innocence, so Earth also has done it since, the 
Judgment against him being reverst by that Honourable, ever 
Memorable Parliament, which under God and our King, has 
settled the Happiness both of this Age and Posterity. 

There wanted not a Sort of Men at this Time who would 
have persuaded the World, that Murder was a Royal Sport j for 
at this Time was printed a Ballad, calPd, Advice to the City, 
sung to the King at Windsor, wherein are these entertaining 
Lines. 

Then, London, be wise, and baffle their Power, 
And let ? em play the Old Game no more, 

Hang, hang up the Sheriffs, 

Those Baboons in Power, 

Those Popular Thieves, 

Those Rats of the Tower. 



96 %l)t Wit&uvn !3t£artproIog;p+ 

The Instruments of shedding this Blood may do well to 
reflect upon the Fate of Clowdesly, one of the Jury-men, and upon 
some others since, that were concerned in that Bloody Tragedy. 

His Character. 
He was a Person of as known Prudence as Integrity; a good 
Christian, a compleat Citizen, a worthy Magistrate, and a worthy 
Church of England Man. He was so cautious and wise, that he 
was noted for it all thro 7 those worst of Times, and often proposed 
as an Example to others of hotter and more imprudent Tempers ; 
nor could the least Imputation be fixt on him of hearing, or con- 
cealing any unlawful or dangerous Discourses, any other ways 
than by plain force of Perjury, being known to have shunned 
some Persons, whom he, as well as some other prudent Men, 
suspected to have no good Designs, and to be indued with no 
more Honesty than Discretion, as it afterwards proved. But he 
was designed to glorifie God by such an End as all his Care 
could not avoid, which he submitted to, with Bravery rarely to 
be met with, unless among those who suffered for the same 
Cause in the same Age ; or their Predecessors, Queen Marfs 
Martyrs. There was seen the same Tenour of Prudence and 
Piety through all the Actions of his Life, tho' most conspicuous 
in the last glorious Scene of it. There was such a firmness in 
his Soul, such Vigour, and almost Extatick Joy, and yet so 
well regulated, that it shin'd through his Face, almost with as 
visible Rays as those in which we use to dress Saints and 
Martyrs ; with which, both at his Sentence and Execution, he 
refresht all his Friends, and at once dazzled and confounded his 
most bitter Enemies. 



MR. CHARLES BATEMAN. 

HE next and last was Mr. Bateman the Chyrurgeon, 
a Man of good Sense, good Courage, and good 
Company, and a very large and generous Temper, of 
considerable Repute and Practice in his Calling : A 
great Lover and Vindicator of the Liberties of the City and 
Kingdom, and of more Interest than most of his station. He 




9£v* Cfjarleg Batemaiu 97 

was swore against by Rouse, Lee, and Richard Goodenough, 
upon the old Stories of seizing the Tower, City, and Savoy. 
We had had a better Defence, had he himself been able to have 
made it : But being kept close Prisoner in Newgate, the 
Windows and Rooms all dark, and little or no Company, he 
being a free jolly Man, and us'd formerly to Conversation and 
Diversion, soon grew deeply melancholly ; and when he came on 
his Trial, appeared little less than perfectly distracted ; on which 
the Court very kindly gave his Son Liberty to make his Defence 
—The first instance to be sure of that Nature ; since he himself 
might probably, had he been in his Senses, have remembered 
and pleaded many Things more, which would have invalidated 
their Evidence against him. But had not the mistaken Piety of 
his Son undertook his Defence, certainly they could never have 
been such Cannibals to have tried one in his Condition. — Yet 
could but what he brought for him, been allowed its Weight and 
Justice, he had escaped well enough. For as for Lee, one Baker 
witnessed, \He had been practised upon by him in the Year 83, 
and would have had him insinuate into Bateman's Company, 
and discourse about State- Affairs to trepan him, by which 
Means he should be made a Great Man.] 'Twas urged besides, 
that there was three Years between the Fact pretended, and 
Lee's Prosecution of him, which, though they had but one 
Witness, could not have brought him to Punishment, which 
would have been judged sufficient by any, but those who would 
be content with nothing but Blood. For Goodenough, he was 
but one Witness, and pardoned only so far, as to qualifie him to 
do Mischief. However he was found Guilty ; and just before 
his Execution very much recovered himself, dying as much like 
a Christian, and with as great a Presence of Mind as most of' 
the others. 



H 




98 ^Ije aaiegtertt S^art^rolog:^ 

DR. OATS, MR. JOHNSON, AND 
MR. DANGERFIELD. 

'E are now obliged, by the Thred of our History, to 
resume a Subject, which, 'tis not doubted, will be 
ungrateful enough to some Persons ; and that 'is, 
— the Popish Plot ; the Belief of which, by the in- 
defatigable Industry of that Party, and the weekly Pains of their 
Observator, and especially this last pretended Plot against the 
Government, was now almost entirely obliterated out of the 
Minds of the less thinking Part of the Nation. To accomplish 
which more fully 'twas thought necessary by the Managers, 
either quite to take off, or expose to Miseries and Disgraces 
worse than Death, all those few Persons who remained honest 
and firm to their first Evidence : the Generality of the World 
judging by outward Appearance, and thinking it impossible but 
that one who stood in the Pillory, and was whipt at the Carfs- 
Arse, must be a Perjur'd Rogue without more ado. Mr. Bedloe 
was dead, and his Testimony therefore would be easier forgotten ; 
tho' at his last Breath after the Sacrament, he Solemnly and 
Juridically confirmed every Word of it before one of the Judges, 
who was happily in Bristol at the Time of his Death. Most of 
the Under-Evidences in the Plot were threatned, or promised, 
or brought off from what they had witnessed, or forced to leave 
the Land for the securing their Persons. None remains now 
besides Oats and Dangerfeld, with whom all Means possible, 
fair and foul, had been used, to make 'em turn Villains, and deny 
their Evidence ; but to their eternal Praise, they still continued 
firm to their first Testimony, to the Rage and Confusion of their 
Enemies. They therefore went first to Work with the Doc- 
tor ; and 'twill be worth the while to consider the Reason of 
his first persecution, by which Men that are not very prejudiced 
may see the Reason and Justice of those which follow, and 'twas 
[For scandalizing the Duke of York with that notorious Truth 
— That he was reconciled to the Church <?/Rome, adding, What 
every Man knows, that Hwas High Treason so to &e.] Would 
but the Doctor's greatest and most passionate Enemies reflect 
on this Beginning of his sorrows ; as well as calmly examine all 



2Dr. dDat& 99 

that's to come, they must form a juster Judgment of his Person 
and Actions, than what seems too deeply fixed in 'em, ever to be 
rooted out ; for which he was adjudged to pay that reasonable 
little Fine of a iooooo Pounds, which, till he paid, tho' there 
was no great Haste for his doing it, he was committed to the 
Bench. 

Having him thus in Li7nbo, they resolved to strike at the Root 
with him, and therefore after new fruitless Attempts to make him 
quit and revoke his Evidence, they made the last Effort on his 
Constancy and Honesty ; and indeed Life it self, Indicting him 
on the 8th and 9th of May 1685. for Perjury in some Branches 
of his Evidence, given in some of it, almost Seven Years before. 
His first Accusation was, [For swearing in Ireland's Trial, he 
himself was here in London, whereas 'twas pretended he was 
at that very Tune at St. Omers.] The second, That Ireland 
was at that Time in Town, when they would have it believed 
he was in Staffordshire. 

The Evidence for the first were all Lads of St. Omers, who, 
tho' they blundered ill-favouredly in former Attempts the same 
Way, and were accordingly told so by the Court in other Trials, 
were now grown expert in the Business, being all of a Religion 
that makes Perjury meritorious ; all Youths and Boys, and 
under such a Discipline as oblige them to obey their Superiors, 
without any Reserve, or questioning the Reason or Justice of 
the Thing ; all or most of 'em afterwards, rewarded with Places 
of Trust and Profit under King James, as, no Doubt, promised 
e'm before for their good Service. They all swore point-blank, 
That Oats was at St. Omers, when he swears he was here at 
the Consult. Not one of these Witnesses who had not been 
bred at St. Omers, and but one who pretended to be a Protestant. 
For the second Indictment — Of Ireland's not being in Town in 
August, as Oats had sworn him : They brought several 
Witnesses to prove it, and that he was at that Time in Stafford- 
shire; most, if not all of which were great Papists. 

In Answer to which, let's first be persuaded fairly to consider 
what may be said in his Defence, and most part of his Vindica- 
tion is over : And first — These were most, or all of 'em, the self 
same Witnesses who in the successive Trials, Whitebread's, 
Harcourt's, &c. and Mr. Langhorn's, could not find Credit j 

H 2 



ioo %%t aaiesstem a^art^rolog:?. 

and who had several Witnesses who swore point-blank contrary 
to what they affirmed, some of whom were dead before this last 
Trial. Let's then consider what Defence Oats made for him- 
self, which in Spite of his own and Jeffreys Passions, seems 
strenuous and unanswerable. 

He had in the former Trials produced no less than Eight 
Persons who swore positively to his being in Town at that very- 
Time, when the Jesuits and their Younkers would so fain had 
him been out of it, whose Names were Mr. Walker, an Ancient 
Minister of the Church of England, Sarah Ives, Mrs. Mayo, 
Sir Rich. Barker, Mr. Page, Mr. Butler, William Smith, and 
Mr. Clay, a Romish Priest, Four of which, Mayo, Butler, Page, 
and Walker he now produced again at his Trial ; the two first 
of whom positively swore the same they did before ; the Minister 
was too Old to remember, and the last too fearful positively to 
affirm what they had before done. 

As to the second Indictment, a Crowd of Witnesses, such as 
they were, came to testifie Ireland was in Staffordshire when 
Oats swore him to be in London. 

To this same Objection he had formerly answered, and 
proved by the Oaths of Mr. Bedloe, and Sarah Pain, and after- 
wards of Mr. Jennison, That Ireland was in Town, when others 
witness he was in the Country. But now at his Trial, Bedloe 
and Pain being dead, and Jennison fled into Holland, he was 
absolutely incapacitated of making any Defence that Way ; and 
so was found guilty of both Indictments. 

The Judgment against him was just as merciful as could be 
expected from Papists, acting by a Jeffreys, Part of which was, 
\To be whipt from Algate to Newgate on Wednesday, and on 
the Friday following from Newgate to Tyburn, and stand on the 
Pillory five times a Year, and be Prisoner during Life.] 
Which he bore with a great deal of Strength and Courage ; tho* 
had not Providence provided him a Body and Soul, made, one 
would think, on Purpose for it, 'twould have killed him, if he'd 
had the Strength of Twenty Men. He had in all above two 
thousand Lashes, as some that were by reckon'd 'em up — Such 
a Thing as was never inflicted by any Jew, Turk, or Heathen, 
but Jeffreys j nay, the merciful Jews thought one less than God 
Almighty had appointed sufficient, and never gave but 39 at a 



2Dr* £>atg. 101 

time, all St. PauVs three times not coming near the third Part 
of the Doctor's. Had they hang'd him, they had been merciful ; 
had they flead him alive, 'tis a Question whether it had been so 
much Torture. How good and merciful those Persons, who will 
vindicate this worse than barbarous and inhumane Action, are, let 
the World and future Ages be Judges ; in the mean while we'll 
safely defy all History to shew one Parallel of it either on 
Man or Dog, from the Creation of the World to the Year 1685. 

But there needs no more Aggravation of it, or urging what 
is plain enough, that the thus dealing with him, even supposing 
his Crime as great as they'd have it, was yet the highest Affront 
and Indignity even to Humanity it self. 'Twill, besides this, be 
an unanswerable Observation — That it had been impossible for 
a Man to have held out the Second Whipping, after the First 
was over, while the Womids were fresh about him, and every 
new Stroak more than a double Torment, either to have under- 
gone this without Confession, or dropping down dead with 
Extremity of Pain, had he not both had Truth on his side, and 
also a more than common Support and Assistance from him who 
saw his Innocency. This Whipping of his being the greatest 
Confirmation to his Evidence that was possible to be given. 

After his Return to Prison, after all this Usage, yet if possible, 
more barbarous, tearing off the Plaisters from his Wounds, 
crushing him with Irons, thrusting him into Holes and Dungeons, 
and endeavouring to render him as infamous to the Nation, and 
all the World, as Cain or Judas; he bore up against all this, and 
more, with so strange and almost miraculous a Patience, that 
during his four Years Imprisonment, he was never once heard 
to sigh, or manifest any Impatience under his Condition. He 
refused all the Offers of the Jesuits, who even after this had the 
Impudence to propose to him his recanting his Evidence. He 
had still a strong Belief that he should see better Times, and 
get his Freedom again, which he had in that General Goal- 
delivery, granted all England by the then Prince of Orange's 
Heroick Undertaking. Since that, he has presented his Ca^e 
and Petition to the Parliament ; to the House of Commons, as 
well as the House of Lords : And tho' the Honourable House of 
Lords were offended at what they judged a Slight of their 
Jurisdiction, in his Addressing to the House of Commons, 



102 %%t mmtvn S^artproloa:?. 

while his Cause lay before them, and exprest their Resent- 
ments thereof accordingly ; the Commons have since that 
taken his Case into Consideration, and, as well as four succed- 
ing Parliaments before 'em, own'd his Cause, and censured the 
Proceedings of Jeffreys against him ; and 'tis not doubted but 
will appoint him Rewards suitable to his Sufferings and Merit. , 

His Character. 

His Firmness and Courage, even perhaps to Fault, have been 
visible through these mentioned, and all his other Actions since 
he appeared on the Publick Stage : His Passions are lively and 
warm, and he is the worst made for a Dissembler, an Hypocrite, 
or a secret Villain, of any Man in the World. Nor have all his 
Sufferings much sunk him, tho' he be a little altered in this Par- 
ticular. He's open and frank, and speaks whatever he thinks of 
any Persons or Things in the World, and bearing himself justly 
enough, on his Services to his Country, is not careful enough to 
keep that Guard which others do, on his Words and Actions. 
He has Wit enough, a pleasant Humour, and sufficiently diver- 
tive to those he knows, and his Learning is far from con- 
temptible. He has a good Library, is *no mean Critick in the 
Greek, and well acquainted with the Schoolmen and Fathers. 
He's Owner of as much Generosity as any Man, and as much 
Tenderness to any in Misery, scorning to strike at those below 
him ; an Example of which very remarkakle there was in his in- 
humane Judge's Fall, he being almost the only Person who has 
been heard to pity him ; though one would have thought he 
should have been the last. In a Word, as this present Age has 
now begun to do him Justice, so 'tis not doubted but they'll make 
an End on't, and those succeeding join with it in making 
honourable Mention of his Name and Services to the Protestant 
Religion. 




I0 3 



MR. JOHNSON. 

UCH about the same Time, the Pious, Reverend, 
and Learned Mr. Johnson met with much the 
same Usage. His great Crimes were, — Being my 
Lord RussePs Chaplain, writing the Famous 
Julian the Apostate ', and endeavouring to persuade the Nation , 
not to let themselves be ?nade Slaves and Papists, when so many 
others were doing their part to bring 1 em to it, And 'tis a Question 
whether any Man in the World, besides his Friend the Reverend 
Dr. Burnet, did more Service with his Pen, or more conduced 
to our great and happy Revolution, both among the Army, and 
in other Places. For some of these good Services, he was 
Accused, Imprisoned, Tried, and Condemned to be divested of 
his Canonical Habit, and be whipt as far as Oats was before 
him ; which was performed, and which he underwent, as he did, 
with Courage and Constancy above a Man, and like a Christian 
and a Martyr. He remained ever since in the King's Bench, till 
the Prince's Coming delivered him. 

The following Paper was Published by Mr. Samuel Johnson, 
in the Year 1686. For which he was Sentenced by the Court 
of King's Bench, (Sir Edward Herbert being Lord Chief 
Justice) to stand Three Times on the Pillory, and to be 
Whipped from Newgate to Tyburn; which Barbarous Sentence 
was Executed. 

An Humble and Hearty ADDRESS to all the English 
Protestants in this present Army. 

Gentlemen, 
Next to the Duty which we owe to God, which ought to be the 
Principal Care of Men of your Profession especially (because you 
carry your Lives in your Hands, and often look Death in the 
Face ;) the Second Thing that deserves your Consideration, is, 
the Service of your Native Country, wherein you drew your first 
Breath, and breathed a Free English Air : Now I would desire 
you to consider, how well you comply with these Two Main 
Points, by engaging in this present Service. 



104 %ty Wlt&tzvn S^artprolog:^ 

Is it in the Name of God, and for his Service, that you have 
joined yourself with Papists ; who will indeed fight for the Mass- 
Book, but burn the Bible ; and who seek to extirpate the Protes- 
tant Religion with your Swords, because they cannot do it with 
their own ? And will you be Aiding and Assisting to set up Mass- 
houses, to erect that Popish Kingdom of Darkness and Desolation 
amongst us, and to train up all our Children in Popery ? How 
can you do these Things and yet call yourselves Protestants ? 

And then what Service can be done your Country, by being 
under the Command of French and Irish Papists, and by bring- 
ing the Nation under a Foreign Yoak ? Will you help them 
to make forcible Entry into the Houses of your Country-men, 
under the Name of Quartering, contrary to Magna Chart a and 
the Petition of Right ? Will you be Aiding and Assisting to all 
the Murthers and Outrages which they shall commit by their 
void Commissions ? Which were declared Illegal, and sufficiently 
blasted by both Houses of Parliament (if there had been any 
Need of it) for it was very well known before, That a Papist 
cannot have a Commission, but by the Law is utterly disabled and 
disarmed. Will you exchange your Birth-right of English Laws 
and Liberties for Martial or Club- Law, and help to destroy all 
others, only to be eaten last yourselves? If I know you well, as 
you are English-men, you hate and scorn all these Things. And 
therefore be not unequally yoaked with Idolatrous and Bloody 
Papists. Be Valiant for the Truth, and shew yourselves Men. 

The same Considerations are likewise humbly ofc ed to all 
the English Seamen, who have been the Bulwark of this Nation 
against Popery and Slavery ever since Eighty-Eight. 

His Character. 

If any Man does not know what he is, let him read his Julian, 
and Defences of it ; he'll find there as much clear, close, fair 
Reason, Scripture, and Law, as ever an ill Cause had brought 
against it, or a good one for it. Mr. Johnson is a true Chiistian 
Stoick ; and tho' he writes warmly, thinks and ac;s as coldly as 
any Man in Chistendom. His Piety is as remarkable as his 
Constancy, and his Universal Chanty as both. — But he's st^ll 
al ; ve ; and 7 us better to say no more of him, than either too much, 
or too little. 




io5 



MR. DANGERFIELD. 

IS Father was a Gentleman, who lived in good 
Fashion at Waltham-Abby, or thereabout, — had 
been a great Sufferer for K. Charles L, and charged 
this his Son on his Death-bed, after his Dis- 
covery of the Plot, never to have any Hand in any thing against 
the Government ; which he promised, and faithfully observed. 
He was a Man of Business and Courage, and therefore employed 
by the Papists, while among 'em, in their desperate and most 
dangerous Concerns. He was then of a Religion that excused 
and encouraged the worst Things he or any other Man could be 
guilty of. The great Thing which brought him on the Stage, 
was Mrs. Celiers Business, called, The Meal-Tub-Plot. The 
Papists had designed to kill two Birds with one Stone— Divert 
the Laws and People from themselves, and ruin their Enemies ; 
for which End they had among 'em made a Plot to bring in the 
Best Men and Patriots of the Kingdom into a pretended Design 
against the King and Government, by a kind of an Association, 
like that which afterwards took better Effect. And for this 
Transaction Mr. Dangerfield was made Choice of, a List of their 
Names, with the Design, being by him, according to Order, con- 
veyed into one Colonel ManseVs Chamber — But he was disco- 
vered, and s^ed in the Design, and acknowledged all the In- 
trigue, giv -o so clear an Account of it, that they had never to 
this very Day the Impudence to pretend any Contradiction, or 
Trip in his Evidence, nor any other Way but flat Denial. But 
there was somewhat yet deeper in the Case, which he afterwards 
revealed in his Depositions before the Parliament, That he was 
employed by the same Party to kill the King, and encouraged 
and promised Impunity and Reward, and Part of it given hi?n 
by a Great Person for that End. 

When the Stream ran violently for Popery, he went over, for 
Security, into Flanders, but continued no longer there ; and re- 
turning back, he was some time after seized, and carried before 
the Council, where, before the King himself, persisting to a Tittle, 
in all his former Evidence, he was committed to Newgate; and 
after having lain there for some Time, Petitioned for a Trial, 



106 %l)z HSimtvn S^artproiosp. 

which they could not do upon any Account but Scandalum 
Magnatum, and that in a Matter which lay only before the Par- 
liament to whom he had revealed it. Yet for that he was tried, 
and found Guilty, as Wi. Williams the Speaker afterwards for 
Licensing his Narrative, by Order of- Parliament. He was to 
undergo the same Whipping Oats and Johnson did. Before he 
went out, he had strong Bodings of his Death, and chose a Text 
for his Funeral Sermon in the . . . oi Job, There the Wicked 
cease from troubling, and there the Weary are at Rest. Saying, He 
was confident they had such a particular Malice against him, he 
should nfer return alive : Confirmed the Truth of all his former 
Evidence, and took a last Farewel of his Friends. After the 
Sentence was executed on him, in his Return home, one Francis 
stabb'd him into the Eye with a sort of a Tuck in the End of his 
Cane, which touching his Brain, he was hardly ever sensible 
after, but died of the Wound in a few Hours, not without great 
Suspicion of Poison, his Body being swoln and black, and full of 
great Blains all over. The Murderer fled, but was pursued by 
the Rabble, who had torn him to Pieces, had not the Officers 
rescued him. He defended and justified the Fact whilst in 
Newgate, saying, He had the Greatest Men in the Kingdom to 
stand by himj to whom after his Trial, and being found Guilty 
upon clear Evidence, great Applications were made, which had 
been successful for his Pardon, had not Jeffreys himself gone to 
Whitehall, and told the King, He must die, for the Rabble were 
now throughly heated. Attempts were made to bribe Mr. Dan- 
gerfield's Wife, that she might consent to the Pardon of her 
Husband's Murderer ; but she too well deserved to be related to 
him, to sell his Blood ; and had an Appeal ready against him, 
had he been Pardoned. So the poor State-Martyr was hanged, 
as Coleman was before him. Mr. Dangerfield's Body was con- 
veyed to Waltham-Abby, with several Coaches attending it, and 
there handsomly buried. He has left one Daughter behind him 
who, if she lives, will be the true Child of her Father. 

His Character. 

The worst of his Enemies have owned he was a Man of Wit, 
Courage, and Business ; all which he reconciled the best of any 



9£r* 2DangerfieHi. 107 

one ; he had as much Address, as perfect and great a Presence 
of Mind, in whatever Exigences, as can be met with. He was 
the best Companion, the best Friend in the World, and as 
generous an Enemy. He did nothing but what lookt very hand- 
some ; and there was a Charm in the meanest, and something 
most bewitchingly pleasant in the most indefensible of his 
Actions. He could do almost every Thing, and 'tis hard to say 
what he did with the greatest Grace. In a Word, all that knew 
him must say, That he wanted nothing but an Estate to have 
made him as compleat a Gentleman as most in England. 

An ELEGY upon Mr. Thomas Dangerfield. 

Go then, Mount-on / Wing through the midway Air, 

And Godfrefs hovering Shade shall meet thee there : 

A Thousand Martyrs thou, a Wound all tfer, 

Thy mighty Mind leaps out at every Pore, 

My rising Heart boils high, the ungrateful World shall see 

Something Immortal, something worthy thee : 

Larger within the Noble Image grows, 

Free, like thy Blood, the uncalPd Satyr flows ; 

But not one Tear to affront thy pious Grave, 

Russel and Generous Essex died less Brave ; 

Love, Pity, Friendship, all their Claims begin, 

But Vengeance drowns 'em all. and roars aloud within, 

And thou Heir's Ehud, by black Rome decreed, 

Hallow'd and Blest to do the Glorious Deed ; 

If his dear Name can ought of Passion move, 

If there are any Strings in Blood or Love, 

EVn at Hell Gates I'll reach and stab thee there ; 

Nor can so just a Rage be too severe. 

Tho' my wild Satyr means a Nobler Wound. 

Others I strike, thee but at the Rebound. 

Like him well tell 'em to their Teeth 'tis true. 

Defie a Stab, and give the Devil his due. 

And if you Bright Exalted Names above, 

Know any thing but how to Sing and Love, 

Look down dear Sharer of my Soul, and see 

A Vengeance worthy of thy Friend and Thee. 



108 %^t Witmvn S^artprolog:?. 

A Friend's Revenge may thy black Murtherers feel, 

Oh may my Pen dart Groves of poison } d Steel, 

Till through their lustful Veins the Venom rolls, 

And with a double Rot consumes their very Souls. 

None, none ! shall 'scape the just and deadly Blow, 

None that these Grand Intrigues of Murder know, 

From Conclaves down to little Kings below : 

Let Laureats belch a pocky Herd's Fame, 

When Can&ieb o'er with some cramp Hebrew Name, 

As their 'good Fellow Catholick Jews before 

Nick-name a Calf Jehovah, and adore. 

No well-wrote Story, no Romance can yield, 

A Greater, Nobler Name than ®an0erfkl& ; 

Nothing he wants, tho' Fate no Title brings, 

That single Name's above an Earl's, a Duke's, a. King's, 

When Ease and Plenty their Brisk Forces join, 

Or the heigh Veins are swoln with lusty Wine ; 

When we on Honour's lofty Turrets go, 

And look with Scorn on little Crouds below, 

Ev'n Fools and Cowards bold and witty grow, 

When Jeffreys on the Bench, Ketch on the Gibbet fits, 

Some take ev'n them for Courages and Wits, 

Nay, Nobler Souls than those, if Fortune frown, 

Oft broke and conquered meanly tumble down. 

If Fate unjust Success to Tyrants give, 

Ev'n the Heroick Brutus dares not live. 

But greater he's still what he was before, 

Nay, greater yet, is all himself and more, 

Tho' man ungrate he ever yet has known, 

Tho' they forsake him, he's not yet alone. 

For some too Honest, and for some too Brave, 

How should he thrive, when neither Fool nor Knave, 

He's not alone, another Spirit attends, 

A nearer Comfort than a Thousand Friends. 

^eabena ! see how bravely he maintains his Ground ! 

Tho' with whole Hells of Devils baited round ; 

Charge on, charge thicker yet ! He stands, he stands ! 

The Blest above look down, and clap their Hands; 

Envy the ungrateful world so great a Bliss, 



$%v. SDatifferffetou 109 

And almost wish to change their Place for his. 

Unbrffid he stands, with Hopes of Victory, 

Knowing his greatest Conquest was to die. 

Thus the Brave Lion, when base Hounds pursue, 

And seize on every Pass and Avenue ; 

Tho' from within his mighty Genius call, 

And KneVs of sudden Thunder bode his Fall, 

Walks careless on, walks on and looks about, 

Terror and Death, thro' all the ignoble Rout, 

And sells his Life so dear, tho' pleas'd to die, 

'Tis hardly worth the while for them to buy. 

Nothing his equal Temper e'er could move, 

No, tho' a very Jeffreys sate above. 

Had some good Heath? nish Pilate, been preferr'd, 

To fill the Place, he had at least been heard, 

But he so fair a Measure must not find, 

For Justice noisfs grown deaf as well as blind. 

Justice is deaf, but yet her Mouth's so wide, 

So loud she yells as deafens all beside. 

If she's return'd from Heaven, as all must say, 

Sure she call'd in at Billingsgate by the Way, 

Raving, her Collar from her Neck she tore, 

Knowing another would become it more. 

Thus the Gay Mad-man twists Straw-wreaths, and then 

He knows not why, tears 'em to Dust again. 

Ah My stick Fate I Who can thy Methods know ? 

Jeffrey's above, and Dangerfield below ! 

But since no Friend, nor Poet can invent, 

Deeper Damnation for his Punishment, 

May he be Jeffreys still, and ne'er repent. 

And now the Fatal Day begins to dawn, 

The Curtain of the last sad Scene is drawn j 

Pale let it ever rise with doubtful Light, 

Hardly distinguisht from preceding Night. 

May Birds obscene and ominous round it stray, 

May troubled Ghosts keep dismal Holiday. 

Curse on each Hour — But hold, for he looks down, 

And over his calm Face has drawn a Frown. 

Forgive, bright Soul! the Starts of a distracted Mind ; 



no %\)t Wimtvn S^artprolos:?* 

The Poet now the Christian leaves behind. 

Withdraw that just, that now unusual Frown. 

Blest be the happy Day that brought thy Crown : 

Thy Radiant Crown of Martyrdom, which brings 

A thousand Joys more than the Crowns of Kings j 

A thousand Joys without a thousand Stings. 

Soon rose the Sun so great a Day to see, 

Soon rose the Sun but not so soon as he. 

A brighter Sun, Assistance down he calls ; 

He draws all Heav'n within his dusky Walls. 

So laught the Apostles at HelPs baffled Rage, 

And sung in spite of Fetters and a Cage. 

Around Hearings Battle?nents bright Legions wait. 

And crouding Seraphs open wide the Gate. 

One who of Martyrs has peculiar Care, 

Is sent to whisper in his Soul, Prepare; 

Or else his Guardian- friend had made him know, 

That long expected Message — He must go, 

For sure he knew the worst their Rage could do ; 

He knew, he saw it all, and scorned it too. 

Pray on, Great Soul ! and like thy Master be, 

For those that now begin to murder thee ; 

Thy Master thus, thus thy Lord Jesus dy'd ; 

He must be scourged before he's crucify'd. 

Though milder Jews far more good Nature have ; 

They Forty Stripes, Jeffreys Four Hundred gave. 

Far more had he at first from Vertue fell ; 

Ten times a fitter Friend for Ro?ne and Hell ; 

Ten times less than this Torment would alone, 

For ten times worse, and ten times more attone : 

Blood might ha ? done, had not fair Tears done more, 

And Penitence washt him whiter than before. 

Nay were I Papist too — 

Pd say those precious Show'rs which from him fell 

Might rescue eifn a Jeffreys out of Hell. 

But this is Mercy, tender Mercy all : 

One Death is for a ®an0erjiel& too small. 

All Hell had doubly sworn he should not live, 

And thef 11 as soon repent, as they'll forgive. 



®$v. 2Dang;erfieItJ. in 

High rampt great Lucifer above his Throne, 

Where Monarch Absolute he Reigns alone, 

Shaking the Scaly Horror of his Tail, 

He swore this last Plot could not, should not fail. 

A Pursuivant was sent, nor far he sought, 

But soon this Engine to the Presence brought, 

The milder Furies started, when he came, 

The Ghosts div'd down thro' Seas of melted Flame, 

And heard and felt new Torments at his Name ; 

Th' Old Dragon only smiled and thus began, 

Dear part of me ! Dear S07ne thing more than Man ! 

Let Parry, Clement, RaviVack combine, 

And cram their Souls great Murderer into thine. 

I love a Man that's resolute and brave, 

Not silly Consciences, or Custom } s Slave. 

Safety you're sure of,' that at least is due ; 

Nor must we (Sir) forsake such Friends as you. 

Go then and prosper I Thus I thee inspire 

With Sparks of my own noble gen'rous Fire ! 

Chuse what you like ! Rewards you need not fear ! 

%t £Hx\tz\X(sT, or <0fc£ertoator fare. 

Go on, and act a Deed so worthy me, 

That Hell may both admire and envy thee ! 

Away he comes ; a double Francis now, 

Half Devil, half Papist, rivell'd on his Brow ; 

Two Strings to's Bow, for fear one should not do, 

Stelletto's sometimes fail, take Poison too. 

Against such powerful Reasons, who'll presume 

To speak ? These, these are the Two Keys of Rome; 

These to blest Peter's Successor were given, 

Opening Hell to themselves, to others Heav'n. 

Poison, which o'er so many a Convert brings, 

Poison, the safest Pill for resty Kings. 

Not all the Reasons in strong Box e'er pent, 

Can challenge half so much of Argument. 

Steel, that can sometimes work as great a Cure, 

Where Patients th' Operation can endure. 

Steel, which tho' so unlike it, poison Apes, 

Drest in as many neat, convenient Shapes. 



ii2 W$z mmtvn 9£artprolojnn 

A Knife, when the French Harry is to die, 

Anon a Sword, a Razor by and by. 

But now, since holy Church requires it, 'twill 

Turn Coward, and sneak into Canes to kill. 

Close by the Hero, now HelPs Viceroy stood, 

And views him crusted o'er with Wounds and Blood, 

Who all unmov'd, tho' all one Clod of Gore, 

His Master's Characters undaunted wore ; 

Such Marks he wore as Scythians ne'er invent, 

At which all but a Francis would relent. 

He Hell and his Great Master does invoke, 

Then with a generous Fury gives the Stroak. 

Wretch, well thou aim'dst, too well thou'st struck his Head, 

Thou'st pierced his Eye, or else he'd lookt thee dead, 

Tho' wounded all, tho' like great Sampson blind, 

Ah could he too like him his Enemies find, 

No Fiend, no Devil should have repriev'd at all, 

He'd crusht thy pois ? nous Soul away, and Kill'd thee with his 

Run Monster, for thy cursed Life, and see [Fall. 

If Vengeance cannot run as fast as thee. 

The very Rabble's mov'd, the unthinking Croud ; 

Th' unweildy Clock's wound up, and strikes aloud. 

Tho' Hag-rid now so long, yet 'tis not tam'd : 

Revenge they name, but ah 'tis only nam'd. 

Ah had their Clacks but held Heaven had lookt down, 

And with kind Thunder fir'd the ungrateful Town. 

Pity the noble Stain was washt with Blood, 

It like a Noble Canker should have stood. 

Consuming, rotting, poisning great and small, 

Cottage and Pallace, Beams and Stones, and all. 

'Tis well at last he merits their Esteem : 

Now, now they love, yes now they pity him. 

Revenge they with unknown good Nature cry, 

With unsuspected Ingenuity / 

But to please Fools 'twa'nt worth the while to die. 

Yes Brutes I at last no doubt you think him brave, 

O he's done well ; his Death will Charges save. 

Revenge, Revenge runs through the opening Town, 

Revenge they cry and hunt the Murd'rer down. 



} 



9£r. 2Demg;erfieU>. 113 

} 



The Beast was earth'd indeed, but 'twas m vain : 
(Cain fled, but God had set a Mark on Cain,) 
Close, close they hunt, and lug him out again. 
May Conscience and the Rabble him attend, 
While we our Duty pay to such a Friend. 
Some Tears e'en by Religious Leave are due, 
Some Tears, and some well-meaning Curses too. 
Can Mothers weep when their soft Infants Bones 
Kind Papists crush against the kinder Stones. 
When the dear Pledges from chase Nuptials born, 
Are for their milder Hounds in pieces torn : 
Sleeping and smiling from their quivering Breast 
Are broacht on Pikes, and sent to longer Rest. 
Can Man himself restrain unmanly Cries, 
When his dear other Self is rape 'd before his Eyes f 
Nay, can he Groans, Curses, Tears themselves forbear, 
To see his Babes hang in their Mother's Hair ? 
All this have the good Catholicks done before : 
All this they now prepare again, or more. 
And he the Handsel of their Malice tries : 
To see if yet their Hands be in, he dies. 
Tare off his useless Plaisters you that can, 
You that have more, or less than Hearts of Man, 
Look their he floating lyes, o'erflown, and drown'd 
In Tides of Poison' d Gore rolFd from the weltring wound. 
■All o'er beside it dropt in gentle Rains, 
But here burst down in Seas and Hurricanes. 
What dire Convulsions shake that Beauteous Frame, 
None of its self is left besides the Name. 
How ghastly Horror rears its dismal throne, 
Where once sat Charms that could be there alone ? 
Dreadful distortions rack that bloated Face, 
And gone are every Beauty, every Grace. 
His gloomy Eye-ball rolls in mortal Pain ; 
And feels for the departed Light in vain. 
Where are those Eyes that could so well inspire 
Love's soft, fair, charming, harmless, lambent Fire. 
Blood flows without, as Poison flows within, 
And half bears up his black distended Skin. 

I 



ii4 Cfje fl&z&tzvn S^artprolog;^ 

Where manly Friendship reign'd and softer Love, 
Blood, Blood is all below, and Horror all above. 

Pity be gone, and Nobler Rage succeed ! 
Others besides a Dangerfield shall bleed. 
Bring forth the Prisoner, let him, let him live, 
For I no more than Jeffreys can forgive. 

for an Age of Torment ! Might he lye 
Like Titzus rackt, like the keen Vulture I. 
Jove's own Ambrosia can't be half so good 
As his broyVd Flesh, nor Nectar as his Blood. 

But what's one Mouth ? Loose him, and cry 'tis he ! 
Loose him among the well teeth? d Mobile ! 
They'll quarter him, not by the Arm or Leg, 
But into Atoms tare HelPs Scanderbeg. 
What a bare hanging ! Such a Death were fit 
For some well-meaning, harmless Jesuit, 
One who poor Soul knows but their little Things, 
Burning proud Cities, pois'ning, stabbing Kings. 
He hath a Deed well worth Dajnnation done, 
And perfected those Stroaks they but begun. 
Hanging / Why they almost deserv'd that Curse 
Who dar'd but think that he deserv'd no worse. 
The best, the bravest Thing for which almost 

1 could be foolish, and forgive his Ghost, 
Is that he triumphs in the Blood he spilt, 
And bravely stands and glory 's in his Guilt ; 
He's hit me full, and I'd no worse invent, 
No, no, 'twas pity he should e'er repent. 

But ye who hallow with deserv'd Applause, 

A better Martyr for a better Cause. 

You who to Fate and Fortune scorn to yield 

Who still dare own you're Friends to Dangerfield j 

And you dear Partner of his Joy and Grief, 

The worthiest him, the best, the tend' rest Wife, 

Who most, who best adore his Memory, 

Who only I must grant lov'd more than me. 

Bring his dear All which at your bottom lyes, 

His fair Remains which I shall ever prize, 



2£r* 2Dang;erfieUJu 115 

Whose Father's vigorous Soul plays 1'oundher Eyes. 

All, all in a full Ring together come, 

And join your Prayers and Curses round his Tomb. 

Curst be the Wretch who did him first ensnare, 
Too mean to let his Name have here a Share. 
A double Curse for them that thought it good, 
Such a Wife should sell such a Husband's Blood. 
Still double, double, till Fm out of Breath, 
On all that had a Hand, a Finger in his Death, 
My Curse, a Friend's, a Wife's, an Orphans's too, 
For all of this side Damning is their due. 
The little Plagues of Egypt to begin : 
Ashwedn'sday's Curses for each lesser Sin. 
With whate'er angry Heaven since could find 
To bait and lash impenitent Mankind. 
Gouts, Feaversy Frenzies, Claps, Consumptions, Cramps, 
Whatever may put out their stinking Lamps ; 
May kind Abortions in some lucky Hour, 
The Fruit and Hope of their vain Lust devour : 
Or if they're born, may the unwholesome Fry, 
Creep only like young Toads abroad, and die. 
Heartily thus let's curse, and if vain Pity move, 
Straight think again on manly Rage, and love, 
Swear by his Blood, and better while we live, 
This on our selves if we his Blood forgive. 
And may whoe'er his Murd'rer's Death deplore, 
Feel all these Curses, and Ten Thousand more, 

Dangerfield's Ghost to Jeffreys. 

Revenge / Revenge/ My injur'd Shade begins 
To haunt thy guilty Soul, and scourge thy Sins : 
For since to me thou ow'st the heaviest Score, 
Whose living Words tormented thee before, 
When dead, Fm come to plague thee yet once more. 
Don't start away, and think thy Brass to hide, 
But see the dismal Shape in which I dy'd ! 
My Body all deform'd with putrid Gore, 
Bleeding my Soul away at every pore; 

I 2 



1x6 %^t H&tgmn Sl^artpcoloffp* 

Pusht faster on by Francis, less unkind ; 
My Body swoln, and bloated as thy Mind. 
This dangling Eye-ball rolls about in vain, 
Never to find his proper Seat again, 
The hollow Cell usurpt by Blood and Brain : 
The trembling Jury's Verdict ought to be 
Murder d at once, by Francis, and by Thee. 

The Groans of Orphans, and the pond'rous Guilt 
Of all the Blood that thou hast ever spilt ; 
Thy Country's Curse, the Rabble's Spite, and all 
Those Wishes sent thee since they long-misht Fall ; 
The Nobles just Revenge, so bravely bought, 
For all thy Ills thy Insolence has wrought : 
May these and more their utmost Force combine, 
Join all their Wrongs, and mix their Cries with mine. 

And see if Terror has not struck thee blind ; 
See here along, a ghastly Train behind ! 
Far, far from utmost WEST they crowd away, 
And hov'ring o'er fright back the sickly Day* 
Had the poor Wretches sinn y d as much as Thee, 
Thou should st not have forgot Humanity : 
Whoe'er in Blood can so much pleasure take ? 
Tho' an ill Judge would a good Hang-man make. 
Each hollows in thy Ears, Prepare I Prepare 
For what thou must, yet what thou canst not bear ! 
Each at thy Heart a bloody Dagger aims, 
Upward to Gibbets point, downward to endless Flames. 



MR. NOISE. 




iMONG those who suffered innocently for Lefs Plot, 
this poor young Gentleman was one, tho' omitted in 
due Place, who tho' he lost not his Life imme- 
diately by it, was yet put to such Extremities, as 
both injured his Reason, and ruined his Fortunes. He was 
born of a good Family not far from Reading, in Barkshirej and 
being a younger Son, was bound Apprentice to a Linen-Draper 



St£r* jpotee. 117 

in London. In which Capacity he was a great Promoter of the 
Apprentices Addresses, intended to be presented to the King for 
Redress of Grievances, and further Prosecution of the Popish 
Plot. A Crime, which those concerned, could never pardon, and 
which was now lookt on, both by himself, and all his Friends, 
as the Cause of these his Troubles. 

Lee swore against him that he was concerned in this Plot, which 
he absolutely denying, tho' no other Witness came in against 
him, and he was never brought to a Trial, he underwent a long 
and severe Imprisonment, loaded with Irons, and kept from his 
Friends, so long till his Trade was ruined before he was set free, 
and he himself then rendered so unfit for Business, that he was 
forced entirely to leave it off, and betake himself to Travel: 
Where, never quite recovering himself, he in a little Time after 
fell sick and died. 

And here 'twill not be improper to remind my Readers, that 
about this Time Things running very high for Popery and Arbi- 
trary Power, the Consideration thereof was very afflicting to Mr. 
Noise: Yet notwithstanding all this, he was silent a long while 
and minded only the proper Business of his Calling, resolving not 
to concern himself with State- Affairs, as deeming them above 
his Sphere and Condition ; which Silence and Resolution he had 
still kept, notwithstanding the great and ineffable Evils he saw 
impending over us, (which were much the more apparent upon 
the Prorogations and Dissolutions of so many Parliaments in so 
dangerous and so critical a Juncture ;) but that casually reading 
one of the Weekly Intelligences, he happened therein to meet 
with something, Entituled, An Address from the Loyal Young 
Men Apprentices of the City of London to His Majesty : 
The Title (he thought) concerned him, as being a Loyal Appren- 
tice of the same City, and therefore he deliberately read it over. 
At first it seemed to bear a fair Aspect, as it was a Tender of 
Thanks to His Majesty for His most Gracious Declaration ; 
but considering that this Declaration contained in it, several 
severe Reflections on the Proceedings of the late Parlia- 
ments, terming them Arbitrary, illegal, and unwarrantable, Mr. 
Noise dreaded the Consequence of such Reflections, as believing 
that it stood not with Modesty, for Apprentices to charge the 
Great Senate of the Nation with Arbitrary, Illegal, and Un- 



n8 W$z WLt&mn ®$myvo\o$y+ 

warrantable Proceedings ; and resolved what in him lay, to 
Vindicate himself and fellow-Apprentices (which is thought to 
have been the Cause of all his Sufferings before related) and to 
satisfie the whole World, that the far greater Part of the 
Apprenties of London have too great a Veneration for Parlia- 
ments, (which under his Majesty are the Bulwarks of our Lives, 
Liberties, and Properties) for to be concerned in any Thing 
tending to Reproach, or reflect upon them ; he advis'd with 
several sober Persons about it, who did not disapprove of his 
Design, but Advice therein they would not give : Wherefore Mr. 
Noise thinking to Petition the Lord Mayor would be the most 
modest and proper Way to demonstrate a Dislike of, and Detes- 
tation to all such Actions, he caused the following Petition to be 
drawn up and Presented, viz. 

To the Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London, 
the Humble Address of many Thousand Loyal 
Apprentices of the same City, whose names are 
hereunto Subscribed, 

In all Humility Sheweth, 
That as we are justly sensible of our Happiness, in being 
born under the Enjoyment of the Protestant Religion, so Ex- 
cellent a Government, and so Gracious a King, to whose 
Service we shall ever be ready to sacrifice our Lives ; so have we 
continually applied our selves to discharge our Duties in our 
proper Callings, without presuming to intermeddle in Affairs 
beyond our Sphere or Concernment. 

But being fully Satisfied, both by his Majesty's frequent Pro- 
clamations, the unanimous Votes of several Parliaments, and the 
Notoriousness of Fact, that for divers Years past, there hath 
been, and still is a Devilish Plot carrying on by the Papists 
against the Sacred Life of our Soveraign, (whom God preserve) 
and to subvert the Protestant Religion, and the Government 
Established : In which horrid Practices the Conspirators have 
alway appeared most active and insolent during the Intervals of 
Parliaments ; and from thence, and the continuing Hopes of a 
Popish Successor, take Occasion with greater Confidence, to 
push on their fatal Designs. 



Q£r* j£ot0t* 119 

Observing likewise, that among the many late Addresses, 
there hath been one promoted in the Names of some few of our 
Condition in this Honourable City, which now is represented as 
the Act and Sense of the Generality of Apprentices, although the 
far greater Part never joined therein, as fearing lest the same 
might seem of a Tendency dishonourable to Parliaments, whose 
Constitution we Reverence, and humbly apprehend their Coun- 
sels highly necessary in such a Juncture. 

Wherefore, though out of an awful Respect, we presume not 
to approach his Sacred Majesty, yet we cannot but think it our 
Duty, to declare to your Lordship (the Chief Magistrate under 
him of this honourable City) and to all the World, That we 
shall never be behind any of our Fellow- Apprentices in Demon- 
strations of Loyalty to his Sacred Majesty, even to the last Drop 
of our Blood, whenever his Majesty's Service shall require it, 
against any Traitors or Rebels whatsoever. And also to assure 
your Lordship, That as we do (and through God's Grace ever 
shall) abhor Popery, and all its bloody, traiterous Practices : So 
we do utterly disapprove and dislike any such Proceedings from 
private Persons, as tend to reproach Parliaments ; but do unani- 
mously, with one Heart, and with one Voice, express our Satis- 
faction in, and Thanks for the humble Petition and Address of 
your Lordship and the Common-Council presented to his 
Majesty in May last, and since approved of in Common-Hall, 
for the Assembling and sitting of a Parliament. 

That the God of Heaven may ever bless and preserve his 
Sacred Majesty, and your Lordship, and this great and honourable 
City ; and grant that your Successors, in this weighty Trust, 
may imitate your Lordship's Piety and Zeal, for the Protestant 
Religion, and his Majesty's Service, shall ever be the daily 
Prayers of us his Majesty's humble, faithful, loyal and obedient 
Subjects. Printed for Thomas Goodwill, An. 1681. 

This Name is composed of Fourteen Letters, taken out of 
the Names of the Chief Managers. 

This Address was signed by about Thirty Thousand Hands ; 
and when those Twenty Persons that presented it had subscribed 
their Names to it, they sent Mr. Noise and Mr. Dunton (two of the 
said Presenters) to Mr. Firmin, to know when they might have 



120 W$z aaugtertt S^art^rolog:?* 

Leave to present it to my Lord Mayor, which being granted in a 
few Days the Twenty Presenters went in a Body together to Mr. 
Firmin, who introduced 'em to my Lord. To whom Mr. Bur ley 
made a brief Speech as follows. 

May it Please your Lordship. 

The Occasion of giving your Lordship this Trouble is 
humbly to lay at your Lordship's Feet, an Address to your 
Lordship^ subscribed by many Thousand Loyal Apprentices of 
this City. 

We do humbly acknowledge to your Lordship, that the Pre- 
sumption we may seem guilty of in this Matter, (considering our 
present Stations) requires a far greater Apology than we are able 
to make. But the principal Reasons that incited us, thus to 
address ourselves to your Lordship, are, 

To demonstrate our Loyalty to his Sacred Majesty. 

Our Zeal for the Protestant Religion. 

And the Veneration and Esteem we have, and ought to have 
or Parliaments. 

Neither indeed, my Lord, could we think these sufficient 
Motives to stir us up to this publick Application, (which better 
becomes graver Heads than ours) had not some few of our 
Fellow- Apprentices lately presented his Majesty with an Ad- 
dress (which seemed to be a Gratulation for the Dissolution of 
the Two last Parliaments) which they now report to have been 
the Act of the Majority of Apprentices of this honourable City ; 
although the far greater Part (as may by the Subscriptions of 
this Address appear to your Lordship) were never concerned 
therein. And although (by Reason of our present Condition) 
we think it an unpardonable Crime to approach his Sacred 
Majesty about Matters relating to the State ; yet we deem it 
our bounden Duty to declare to your Lordship and the whole 
World, That we utterly disclaim any proceedings (especially from 
Persons in our own Condition) that may seem to reflect upon 
Parliaments, the greatest Senate of the Nation. And that the 
Generality of Apprentices of this City have a Venerable Esteem 
for Parliaments ; which may the better appear to your Lordship 
upon reading the Address it self. 

And I dare be bold to affirm to your Lordship, (by the Infor- 



9£r* jpo&e* 121 

mation I have had from those who were employed to take Sub- 
scriptions to this Address,) That there is not one Subscriber to 
it, who is either Journey-man, Tapster, Hostler, Water-man, 
or the like ; but all Persons of our own Rank and Condition. 

Which Address, in the name of all the Subscribers thereunto, 
I humbly offer to your Lordship, and beg your Lordship's favour- 
able Reception of it. 

Then his Lordship commanded the Address to be read, which 
being ready, Mr. Bur ley proceeded thus. 

I have one Thing more to say, my Lord, I understand that 
there is a common Notion about Town, that this Address hath 
been carried on by Faction, and that none but Dissenters have 
been concerned in it. I can assure your Lordship of the con- 
trary : For that I know many of the Subscribers who are of 
the Church of England; of which Church I boast my self an 
unworthy Member. 

Then his Lordship was pleased to express himself to this 
Effect. 

Gentlemen, 

This is a Surprize to me ; and therefore I cannot tell what to 
say to it. But for as much as I have heard your Address read, 
and at first reading can find nothing in it, but what becomes 
Loyal and Obedient Subjects, I do accept of it. I only desire 
the Names of you that are the Presenters. 

Then we told him, that our Names were those, which were 
next to the Address it self at some Distance from the rest of the 
Subscribers. Then he ordered them all to be called over, and 
so we answered to our Names. And then his Lordship desired 
he might have an Account of our Abodes, which we also gave 
him. 

Then his Lordship advised us to go home, and give Evidence 
of our Loyalty by our peaceable Demeanour, and Conformity to 
the Laws of the Land ; and to lay the Foundation of our future 
Happiness, by being dutiful to our Masters, and diligent in our 
Business, that so in Time we might become good Citizens. 

So they returned again in five Coaches, to RusselVs^ and 
supped there all together, and so every one went home. 

The Twenty Presenters of this Address were, Mr. Burleyy 



i22 %ty Wltgttvn S^art^roloff^ 

Mr. A h, Mr. Stephens, Mr. Mead, Mr. B th, Mr. 

Evans, Mr. Batty, Mr. P le, Mr. Donton, Mr. Afaz'j*, (one 

of the Persons who first set this Design afoot) Mr. C //, 

Mr. S s, Mr. S y, Mr. Heming, Mr. B w, Mr. 

Pointell, Mr. S th, Mr. Bourn, Mr. Malthus, Mr. R ts. 

A Letter sent August 19. 1681. thus subscribed, 

To the truly Loyal and Protestant Apprentices of London, that 
were the Principal Managers of the late Address to my Lord 
Mayor. 

Go on, Heroick Souls, and faithful be 

Unto your God, your King, your Liberty. 

Let your unbyast Actions give the Lie 

To such as scandalize your Loyalty. 

To Casar render what's to Ccesar due : 

Earth merits, Heaven expects no more from you. 

Those Rights defend which your Brave Sires sent down, 

Inviolable as the Throne or Crown. 

Tell supple Parasites, and treacherous Knaves, 

You're humble Subjects, not degenerate Slaves. 

Bow low, but scorn to creep, (for that's as well) 

Nor for a Mess of Broth your Birth-rights sell. 

Pass by th' Affronts that Hell and Rome can send ; 

Comfort your selves, when 'tis at worst 'twill mend. 

But when the Church is shook by Potent Foes, 

For her Defence your Bodies interpose. 

Of Popish Mercy never run the Risque : 

A crowned Serpent grows a Basilisk. 

Vindicate then the Gospel and the Laws ; 

The Cause is Heaven's, Heaven will espouse the Cause. 

Undauntedly prop up your Churches Walls, 

And joy to fall beneath it if it falls. 

To perish thus, who would not be content, 

When mouldring Temples are his Monument ? 



THE 



INTRODUCTION 



OF THE 



Western TRANSACTIONS, 



AND 



?■■ 



p 



eneral Observations upon hem 



Jh: 




AM sensible 'tis a very invidious Thing to defend 
any Action which has had the Public Stream and 
Cry long against it ; with which even Men of 
Sense, and sometimes Religion too, tho' Pride or 
Shame perhaps seldom lets 'em own the very Truth on't, are 
commonly hurried away as well as others. But this is, 'tis 
hoped, for the general, an Age of Confession and Ingenuity ; 
and since so many of the greatest Men upon Earth have gone 
before, in acknowledging some Notions too far strained, and 
others mistaken, 'twill be no real Disgrace, but an Honour to 
follow them, when so much in the right. And if once Principles 
and Notions are changed, or limited, we shall necessarily have 
other Thoughts of Things and Persons than we had before ; and 



124 ^t WLtmvn %van&attion$. 

that Action was called Rebellion, and those Men we thought 
Rebels ', while we had a wrong slavish Notion of Obedience ; 
when once that's regulated, and we believe with all the World, 
and all Ages and Nations, That we are to obey only the lawful 
Commands of Superiors, and submit only to such unjust ones, 
as will not much damage the Commonwealth; but resist and 
defend ourselves, when all we have dear, our Religion, Liberty 
and Lives, are visibly and undeniably attackt and invaded, 
either without all Form of Law, or what's worse, the wrested 
Pretence of it. Then we think truly, that such Men are so far 
from being Rebels, that they are the worthy true Defenders of 
their Faith and Country: And such an Action so far from 
Rebellion, that 'tis highly meritorious and praise-worthy. Most 
Men being now satisfied in these Points, unless those whom 
insuperable Interest or Prejudice have poisoned and rooted 
incorrigibly in the contrary Belief. And the Truth and Reason- 
ableness of them having been undeniably proved by many 
worthy Persons from the Law of Nations, the Ends of all 
Government, and the constitution of our Kingdom, and the 
Practice of former Ages, both Popish and Protestant : All the 
Question now must be about Matter of Fact, Whether Things 
were then brought to that Extremity that 'twould probably be too 
late to make any Defence for Religion and Property, if ''twere 
not then made; and whether or no the Fundamental Contract 
were then actually violated? 

This is plain, that the Protestant Religion, and all our Liber- 
ties were then most eminently in Danger, publick Leagues being 
long before made between his Britannick Majesty and the King 
of France for their Extirpation : That he who had been voted 
in Parliament the main Head of the Popish Cause, was now 
grown the Head of the Kingdom ; or indeed the Popish Deputy 
here, as he is since the King of Frances in our Neighbouring 
Island ; that for being reconciled to Rome, he was actually a 
Traitor ; and besides, of a Religion whose Oaths could not be 
depended upon, as we were then, and long before told, and have 
since sufficiently felt and experienced. That on this Account, 
he hardly could keep his Contract, as 'twas plain he actually did 
not, publickly and notoriously violating those Laws he swore to 
maintain, both before and after he had done it, by going to Mass 



^ntroDuctton. 125 

himself, setting up Mass-houses, and encouraging Popery. As 
for many Grievances and Oppressions, he was then as really 
guilty of 'em as ever after, tho' not in such large, and frequent, 
and various Instances ; some of 'em are those very same which 
the Parliament inserted among the Proofs and Reasons of the 
Abdication, particularly the issuing out Quo Warrantors for 
Cities and Corporations ; the great Cause and Counsellor of 
which no Doubt he was, even before he actually, I mean 
publickly, reigned. 

In a Word, the securing the Protestant Interest in all Europe, 
that, and their own Liberties in England, was the main cause 
why many, and most engaged in this Design. If these were in 
no Danger, and not violated, they we Rebels : If the Safety of 
'em could be expected any other Way but by the Sword, they 
were no better. Whether Things were in that Condition, or no, 
at that Time, God and the World must be Judges. If it were 
so, they were hot Rebels : If the Case was not so bad, and the 
Mystery of Iniquity not so far revealed, as it has been since, yet 
preventive Physick is necessary, especially when Death is un- 
avoidable without it. If a prudent Man is to meet Mischief 
rushing upon him, and not stay fort till it overwhelms him, and 
take the same Course against a certain Consequence, as an actual 
Evil, why then, I think 'twill be very hard to hang People in 
one World, and damn 'em in another, for having as little a Fore- 
sight, and great a Faith as their Neighbours. 

Others there were who embarkt in that Action, because they 
really thought, how much mistaken soever they might be, that 
the Duke of Monmouth was the King's Legitimate Son; which 
such as had a personal Love for him might more easily believe. 
Now, although many, who engaged on the former Account only, 
did not believe this, nor know anything of his Intention of being 
proclaimed King, nor approved of it when 'twas done ; and tho' 
had he been able to make out his Title, or let his Pretensions 
alone, he had not wanted in all Likelihood a sufficient Assistance 
from the Nobility and Gentry, none of whom for those Reasons 
coming in to him ; yet on the other Side, 'tis hardly doubted 
that these Men, who thought he had a Right, were really obliged 
to follow the Dictates of their Conscience, tho' mistaken, and do 
whatever lay in their Power, to the utmost Venture of their 



126 Cfje WlzZUkxi ^rangacttong* 

Lives, to fix him on his Father's Throne, to which they verily 
believed he had a proper Right and Title. And these Men too, 
acting on the same Reasons with the forementioned, for Deliver- 
ance of their Country, as well as Defence of him whom they 
thought their King ; the earnest Zeal, and Concern, and Love, 
which most of 'em manifested for the Protestant Religion, being 
besides so conspicuous in their Lives and Deaths, I know not 
how they can, without Impudence, be branded with the infamous 
Name of Rebels j nor think 'twill be any Arrogance to honour 
'em with the just and dear-bought Title of Martyrs. 

One Thing there is very observable in most, if not all of those 
who laid down their Lives in this Cause, both in England and 
Scotland, that, besides that extraordinary Divine Courage and 
Chearfulness with which they died, they had Expressions 
plainly boding that great Deliverance which Providence has 
since that miraculously accomplished for these Kingdoms. 
'Twould be endless to give almost all the innumerable Instances 
of it : Mr. Nelthorp says [God had in his wonderful Provi- 
dence made him and others Instruments, not only in what 
was already fallen out, but he believed, for hastening some 
other great Work, he had yet to do in these Kingdoms^ Mrs. 
Gaunt says, [God's Cause shall revive, and he'd plead it at 
another Rate than yet he had done, against all its malicious 
Opposers.] And speaks yet more strangely of those then upper- 
most, and likely to be so, [ That thd they were seemingly fixed, 
and using their Power and Violence against those they had 
now got tinder 'em, yet unless they could secure Jesus Christ, 
and all his Holy Angels, they should never do their Business, 
but Vengeance would be upon 'em e'er they were aware.] 
Captain Ansley, whose Speech is as pretty and neat a Thing, 
as close, and Christian, and couragious, as perhaps any that ever 
was made by Man in his Condition, after he had said [He did 
not repent what he had done, but if he had a thousand Lives 
would have engaged 'em all in the same Cause J] adds just after, 
[Though it has pleased the wise God, for Reasons best know7i 
to himself, now to blast our Designs, yet he will deliver his 
People by Ways we know not, nor think of] Ru?nbold said 
just the same. Mr. Hewling says, [/ question not, but in his 
own Time, God will raise up other Instruments to carry on the 



3ntP0Ductfoiu 127 

same Cause they died for, for his own Glory."] Mr. Lark 
[That he was confident God would revenge their Bloods \] Now, 
it will be very harsh to say, all these, and several more, to the 
same Purpose, were nothing but Enthusiasm, since spoken by 
Persons of all Sexes and Ages in twenty different Places, in the 
most calm and serene Tempers, and the Persons not wild or 
fancyful ; and their Words miraculously made good by the 
Event, which shews God honoured 'em with being Prophets as 
well as Martyrs. 

To proceed to the Persons who suffered in this Cause here, 
and in the West, and other Places, chiefly under Jeffrey s 
insulting Cruelty. His dealing with 'em is not to be parallell'd by 
any thing but the new French Dragoons, or the old Cut-throats 
and Lord Chief Justices of the poor Albigenses or Waldenses at 
Merindol and Cutrices. Had the Great Turk sent his Ja- 
nisaries, or the Tartar his # Armies among 'em, they'd 'scaped 
better. Humanity could not offend so far to deserve such 
Punishment as he inflicted. A certain barbarous Joy and 
Pleasure grinned from his Brutal Soul through his Bloody Eyes, 
whenever he was sentencing any of the poor Souls to Death and 
Torment ; so much worse than Nero, as when that Monster 
wisht he had never learnt to write, because forced to set his 
Name to Warrants for Execution of Malefactors. Jeffreys 
would have been glad if every Letter he writ had been such a 
Warrant, and every Word a Sentence of Death. He observed 
neither Humanity to the Dead, nor Civility to the Living. He 
made all the West an Aceldama ; some Places quite depopu- 
lated, and nothing to be seen in 'em but forsaken Walls, un- 
lucky Gibbets, and Ghostly Carcases. The Trees were loaden, 
almost as thick with Quarters as Leaves. The Houses and 
Steeples covered as close with Heads, as at other Times frequently 
in that Country with Crows and Ravens. Nothing could be 
liker Hell than all those Parts, nothing so like the Devil as he. 
Caldrons hizzing, Carkases boyling, Pitch and Tar sparkling 
and glowing, Blood and Limbs boyling, and tearing, and 
mangling, and he the great Director of all ; and in a Word, 
discharging his Place who sent him, the best deserving to be 
the late King's Chief Justice there, and Chancellor after, of any 
Man that breathed since Cain or Judas. 




i28 Wbt Witmvn Ctangactfong* 

Some of the more Principal Persons who fell under his bar- 
barous Sentences, 'tis thought worth the while to treat distinctly 
and particularly of, throwing the rest together after 'em, and 
only reprinting the former Account, if any are left out, it being 
necessary to hasten, to prevent Shams. If the Book be accepted, 
and come to another Edition, they shall be inserted ; and if any 
Faults or Mistakes found, acknowledged and regulated. And 
the first whom we shall make especial Remarks on, are 



THE HEWLINGS. 

F any one would see true Pure Popish Mercy, let 
'em look on these Two Gentlemen, the onely Sons 
of their Vertuous and Sorrowful Parents ; the 
Comforts, Props, and Hopes of their Name and 
Family, carefully educated, vertuously disposed both of them ; 
after all repeated Applications, if but for one of their Lives, 
barbarously Executed. A particular care was taken by their 
Father in their Education, forming their Minds by his own 
Example, and constant Instructions and Prayers, as well as other 
Pains of Ingenious Masters, to the strictest Rules of Piety and 
Vertue. Nor was their Pious and very Tender Mother less 
careful in that Particular. 

The Elder, Mr. Benjamin Hewling^ had Tutors in the Mathe- 
maticks y and other Parts of Philosophy ; a Course of which he 
went through successfully enough, and so as to render him as 
compleat in his Mind, as Nature had formed his Body : After 
which he went to Holland, as his Brother, Mr. William Hewling, 
from whence this last returned with the Duke : Both of 'em had 
Commands in the Army ; the Elder had a Troop of Horse, the 
Younger was a Lieutenant of Foot, and discharged their Places 
with much more Conduct and Bravery than could be expected 
from such Young Soldiers, being entirely satisfied in the Cause 
they fought for, since 'twas no less than the Interest of all that 
was dear to 'em in this World or t'other. The Eldest had par- 
ticularly signalized himself in several Skirmishes, and was sent 
with a Detachment of his own Troop, and Two more, to Myn- 
head in Somersetshire to bring Cannon to the Army, at the very 



Instant the Duke engaged the King's Forces at Fatal Sedgmorej 
and came not up till after the Field was entirely lost ; to whose 
Absence, with so considerable a Party of the Duke's Horse, and 
the most resolved Men of all he had, the Loss of the Day was 
principally owing. Finding all Things in Disorder, and the 
Rout beyond recovering, he was forced to disperse his Troops, 
every one shifting as they could for themselves. He and his 
Brother kept together, where, what befell 'em after, their Friends 
have given an exact Account, which is here following inserted. 



An Account of the Behaviour of Mr. William and 
Benjamin Hewling, before and at their Execution ; 
with several Letters to divers of their Relations. 

The Gracious dealings of God, manifested to some in Dying 
Hours, have been of great Advantage to those living that heard 
the same, giving them an Occasion thereby to reflect on their own 
State, and to look after the Things of their Peace, before they be 
hid from their Eyes ; as also a great Encouragement to strengthen 
the Faith of those that have experienced the Grace of God to 
them. 

To that End it is thought necessary, by Parents especially, to 
preserve to their Children that Remain, those blessed Expe- 
riences that such have had, which God hath taken to himself. 

Here therefore is presented a true Account of the Admirable 
Appearances of God towards two Young Men ; Mr. Benjamin 
Hewling, who died when he was about 22 Years of Age, and 
Mr. William Hewling, who died before he arrived to 20 Years : 
They engaged with the Duke of Monmouth, as their own words 
were, for the English Liberties, and the Protestant Religion, and 
for which Mr. William Hewling was Executed at Lyme the 
1 2th of September ; 1685. and Mr. Benjamin Hewling at Taun- 
ton, the 30th of the same Month ; and however severe Men were 
to them, yet the blessed Dispensation of God towards them was 
such, as hath made good his Word, that out of the Mouths of 
Babes he hath ordained Strength, that he may still the Enemy 
and the Avenger. Then, Reader, would you see Earthly 
Angels, (Men that are a little too low for Heaven, and much too 

K 



130 %l)t Wimtvn ^rangacttontf- 

high for Earth) would you see poor frail Creatures trampling 
this World under their Feet, and with an holy, serene Counten- 
ance Smiling at the Threats of Tyrants, who are the Terrors of 
the Mighty in the Land of the Living ? Would you see shackled 
Prisoners behave themselves like Judges, and Judges stand like 
Prisoners before them ? Would you see some of the fare 
Exploits of faith in its highest Elevation, immediately before it 
be swallowed up in the Beatifical Vision ? To conclude, would 
you see the Heavenly Jerusalem pourtrayted on Earth ? Would 
you hear the melodious Voices of ascending Saints in a ravishing 
Comfort ready to join with the Heavenly Chorus in their delight- 
ful Hallelujah's ? Then draw near, come and see ! If thou be 
a Man of an Heavenly Spirit, here is pleasant and suitable 
Entertainment for thee ; and after thou has conversed a while 
with these Excellent Spirits, it may be thou wilt judge as I do, 
That dead Saints are sweeter Companions (in some Respects) 
for thee to converse with, than those that are living : And when 
thou shalt see the magnificent Acts of their Faith, their invin- 
cible Patience, their flaming Love to Christ, their strange Con- 
tempt and Undervaluings of the World, their Plainness and 
Simplicity in the Profession of the Gospel, their fervent and 
brotherly love to each other, their ravishing Prospect (as it were 
on the Top of Mount Pisgah) of the Heavenly Canaan, their 
Swan-like Songs and Dying-Speeches. And, Reader, you know 
the first Lispings of little Children, and last farewels of Dying 
Saints are always most sweet and chaining: Those Fore-tastes 
of the Rivers of Pleasure, the transporting Glimpses they had 
of the Crown of Glory ; I say, when you see and read these 
Exemplary Truths, wonder not that the Pious Hew lings longed 
so vehemently to be in a better World, though they were to pass 
through a Thousand Deaths, or the Fiery Trial to it. [But to 
come to our intended Matter.] 

After the dispersing of the Duke's Army, they fled and put to 
Sea, but were driven back again, and with the Hazard of their 
Lives got on Shoar, (over dangerous Rocks) where they saw the 
Country filled with Soldiers, and they being unwilling to fall into 
the Hands of the Rabble, and no Way of Defence or Escape 
remaining to them, they surrendred themselves Prisoners to a 
Gentleman, whose House was near the Place they landed at, 




The Surrender of the Hewmngs 



P 130 



W$z t&rtDlmfl#. 131 

and were from thence sent to Exeter Goal, the 1 2th of July, 
where remaining some Time, their Behaviour was such, that 
(being visited by many) caus'd great Respect towards em', even 
of those that were Enemies to the Cause they engaged in ; and 
being on the 27th of July put on Board the Swan Frigate, in 
Order to their bringing up to London, their Carriage was such, 
as obtained great Kindness from the Commander, and all other 
Officers in the Ship ; and being brought into the River, Captain 
Richardson came and took them into his Custody, and carried 
them to Newgate, putting great Irons about them, and put them 
apart from each other, without giving Liberty for the nearest 
Relation to see them, notwithstanding all Endeavours and 
Entreaties used to obtain it, tho' in the Presence of a Keeper ; 
which though it did greatly increase the Grief of Relations, God, 
who wisely orders all Things for Good to those he intends Grace 
and Mercy to^ made this very Restraint, and hard Usage a 
blessed Advantage to their Souls, as may appear by their own 
Words, when after great Importunity and Charge, some of their 
near Relations had Leave to speak a few Words to them before 
the Keeper, to which they replied, They were contented -with the 
Will of God whatever it should be. Having been in Newgate 
three Weeks, there was Order given to carry them down into the 
West, in Order to their Trial ; which being told them, they 
answered, They were glad of it j and that Morning they went 
out of Newgate, several that beheld them, seeing them so chear- 
ful, said, Surely they had received their Pardon, else they coitld 
never carry it with that Courage and Chearfulness. Although 
this must be observed, that from first to last, whatever Hopes 
they received from friends, they still thought the contrary, never 
being much affected with the Hopes of it, nor cast down, nor 
the least discouraged at the worst that Man could do. In their 
Journey to Dorchester, the Keepers that went with them have 
given this Account of them, That their Carriage was so grave, 
serious, and Christian, that made them admire to see and hear 
what they did from such Young Men, 

A near Relation that went into the West to see the Issue of 
Things, and to perform whatever should be necessary for them, 
gives the following Account : 

At Salisbury, the 30th of August, I had the first Opportunity 

K 2 



i32 %$t Wlt&ttvn Crart0attton0. 

of Converse with them : I found them in a very Excellent Com- 
posure of Mind, declaring their Experience of the Grace and 
Goodness of God to them in all their Sufferings, in supporting 
and strengthning, and providing for them, turning the Hearts of 
all in whose Hands they had been both at Exon, and on Ship- 
board, to shew Pity and Favour to them ; although since they 
came to Newgate they were hardly used, and now in their 
Journey loaded with heavy Irons, and more inhumanely dealt 
with. They with great Chearfulness professed, That they were 
better, and i?i a more happy Condition than ever in their Lives, 
from the Sense they had of the pardoning Love of God in Jesus 
Christ to their Souls, wholly referring the?nselves to their wise 
and gracious God to chuse for them Life or Death j expressing 
themselves thus : Any thing what pleases God, what he sees best, 
so be it : We know he is able to deliver, but if not, blessed be his 
Name, Death is not terrible 7iow, but desirable. Mr. Benjamin 
Hewling particularly added, As for the World, there is nothing 
in it to make it worth while to live, except we may be serviceable 
to God therein. And afterward said, Oh 7 God is a strong 
Refuge, I have found him so indeed. 

The next Opportunity Fhad was at Dorchester, where they both 
were carried, there remaining together four Days : By Reason 
of their strait Confinement our Converse was much interrupted ; 
but this appeared, that they had still the same Presence and Sup- 
port from God, no way discouraged at the Approach of their 
Trial, nor of the Event of it, whatever it should be. 

The 6th of September Mr. Benjamin Hewling was ordered to 
TauntonXo be tried there : Taking my Leave of him, he said, 
Oh ! Blessed be God for Afflictions j I have found such happy 
Effects, that I would not have been without them for all this 
World. 

I remained still at Dorchester to wait the Issue of Mr. William 
Hewling, to whom, after Trial, I had free Access, whose Dis- 
course was much filled with Admirings of the Grace of God in 
Christ, that had been manifested towards him, in calling him out 
of his natural State. He said, God by his holy Spirit did sud- 
denly seize upon his Heart, when he thought not of it in his 
retired Abode in Holland, as it were secretly whispering in his 
Heart, Seek ye my Face, enabling him to a?iswer his Call, and 



C&e K?etolfnff& 133 

to reflect upon his own Soul, shewing him the Evil of Sin, and 
Necessity of Christ, from that Time carrying him on, to a 
sensible Adherence to Christ for Justification and Eternal Life. 
He said, Hence he found a Spring of Joy and Sweetness beyond 
the Comforts of the whole Earth. He further said, He could not 
but ad?nire the wonderful Goodness of God, in so preparing him, 
for what he was bringing him to, which then he thought not ofj 
giving hi7n Hope of Eternal Life, before he called him to look 
Death in the Face, so that he did chearfully resign his Life to 
God before he came, having sought his Guidance in it; and that 
both then, and now the Cause did appear to him very Glorious, 
notwithstanding all he had suffered in it,, or what he further 
might. Although for our Sins God hath with held these good 
Things fro7n us. But he said, God had carried on his Blessed 
Work on his Soul, in and by all his Sufferings ; and whatever the 
Will of God were, Life or Death, he knew it would be best 
for him. 

After he had received his Sentence, when he returned to 
Prison, he said, Methinks L find my spiritual Comforts inc7 eas- 
ing, ever since my Sentence. There is no Co7idemnation to them 
that are in Christ Jesus, ifs God that justifies, whom shall 
condemn f 

When I came to him the next Morning, (when he had 
received News that he must die the next Day, and in Order to 
it was to be carried to Lyme that Day) I found him in a more 
excellent rais'd Spiritual Frame than before : He said, He was 
satisfied God had chosen best for him : he knows what the 
Temptations of Life might have been ; I might have lived and 
forgotten God, but now I am going where I shall sin no more. 

! it's a Blessed Thing to be free from Sin, and to be with 
Christ. Oh ! the Riches of the Love of Christ to Sinners. 
Oh ! how great were the Sufferings of Christ for me beyond all 

1 can undergo ? How great is that Glory to which I am going ? 
It will soon swallow up all our Sorrow here. 

When he was at Dinner, just before his going to Lyme, he 
dropt many abrupt Expressions of his inward Joy, such as 
these : Oh ! the Grace of God, the Love of Christ; Oh ! that 
blessed Supper of the La7nb, to be for ever with the Lord ! He 
further said, When I went to Holland, you k7iew not what 



i3l %%t H&t&ttvn '(Xrartgf actions 

Snares, Sins and Miseries I might fall into, or whether ever we 
should meet again :. But now you know whither I am going, and 
that we shall certainly have a most joyful Meeting. 

He said, Pray give my particular Recommendations to all 
my Friends, with acknowledgments for all their kindness. 
I advise them all to make sure of an Interest in Christ, for He 
is the only comfort when we come to die. 

One of the Prisoners seemed to be troubled at the Manner of 
the Death they were to die ; to whom he replied/ / bless God I 
am reconciled to it all. 

Just as he was going to Lyme, he writ these few Lines to a 
Friend, being hardly suffered to stay so long. 

/ am going to launch into Eternity, and I hope and trust into 
the A r 171 of my Blessed Redeemer, to whom I commit you. and all 
my dear Relations; my Duty to my dear Mother, and Love to 
all my Sisters, and the rest of my Friends. 

William Hewling. 

As they passed through the Town of Dorchester to Lyme, 
Multitudes of People beheld them, with great Lamentations, 
admiring at his Deportment at his parting with his Sister. 

As they passed upon the Road between Lyme and Dorchester, 
his Discourse was exceeding Spiritual, (as those declared who 
were present) taking Occasion from every Thing to speak of the 
Glory they were going to. Looking out on the country as he 
passed, he said, This is a Glorious Creation, but what then is 
the Paradice of God to which we are going? 3 Tis but a few 
Hours, and we shall be there, and for ever with the Lord. 

At Lyme, just before they went to die, reading John 14. 18. 
He said to one of his Fellow- sufferers, Here is a sweet Promise 
for us, I will not leave you comfortless, I will come [unto 
you. Christ will be with us to the last. One taking Leave of 
him, he said, Farewel till we meet in Heaven ; presently I shall 
be with Christ : Oh / / would not Change conditions with any 
in this world ; I would not stay behind for ten thousand worlds. 

To another that asked him how he did now ? He said, Very 
well he blessed God. And farther asking him, if he could look 
Death in the Face with Comfort now it approach'd so near ? 



W$z ^etolinp. 135 

He said, Yes, I bless God I can with great Comfort; God has 
made this a good Night to me, my Comforts are much increased 
since I left Dorchester : Then taking Leave of him, said, Fare- 
wel, I shall see you no more. To which he replied, How 1 See 
me no 7nore? Yes, I hope to meet you in Glory. To another 
that was by him to the last, he said, Pray remember my dear 
Love to my Brother and Sister, and tell them, I desire they 
would comfort themselves that I a7n gone to Christ, a7id we 
shall quickly meet in the Glorious Mount Si on above. 

Afterwards he prayed for about three Quarters of an Hour 
with the greatest Fervency, exceedingly blessing God for Jesus 
Christ, adoring the Riches of his Grace in him, in all the 
Glorious Fruits of it towards him, praying for the Peace of the 
Church of God, and of these Nations in particular, all with 
such eminent Assistance of the Spirit of God, as convinced, 
astonished, and melted into Pity the Hearts of all present, even 
the most malicious Adversaries, forcing Tears and Expressions 
from them ; some saying, They knew not what would become 
of them after Death ; but it was evident he was going to great 
Happiness. 

When he was just going out of the World, with a joyful 
Countenance, he said, Oh ! now my Joy and Co7nfort is, that I 
have a Christ to go to, and so sweetly resigned his Spirit to 
Christ, the 12th of Septe77iber, 1685. 

An Officer who had shewed so malicious a Spirit as to call 
the Prisoners Devils, when he was guarding them down, was 
now so convinced, that he after told a Person of Quality, That 
he was never so affected, as by his chearful Carriage and 
fervent Prayer, such, as he believed, was never heard, especially 
from one so Young ; and said, I believe, had the Lord Chief 
Justice been there, he would not have let him die. 

The Sheriff having given his Body to be buried, although it 
was brought from the Place of Execution without any Notice 
given, yet very many of the Town, to the Number of about 
200, came to accompany him ; and several Young Women of 
the best of the Town, laid him in his Grave in Ly 771c- Church- 
Yard, the 13th of Septe77iber, 1685. 

After which his Sister wrote the following Letter to her 
Mother : 



136 %l)t fattegtent ^rangacttottsL 

Although I have nothing to acquaint my Dear Mother 
withall, but what is most afflictive to Sense, both as to the 
Determination of God's Will, and as to my present Apprehen- 
sion concering my Brother Benjamin, yet remaining; yet there 
is such abundant Consolation mixt in both, that I only wanted 
an Opportunity to pay this Duty ; God having wrought so 
Glorious a Work on both their Souls, revealing Christ in them, 
that Death is become their Friend. My Brother William 
having already with the greatest Joy declared to those that were 
with him to the last, that he would not change Conditions with 
any that were to remain in this World, and he desired that his 
Relations would comfort themselves, that he is gone to Christ. 

My Brother Benjamin expects not long to continue in this 
World, and is exceeding willing to leave it when God shall call, 
being fully satisfied that God will chuse that which is best for 
him and us all ; by these Things God doth greatly support me ; 
and I hope you also, my Dear Mother, which was and is my 
Brother's great Desire ; there is still Room for Prayer for one ; 
and God having so answered, though not in kind, we have 
Encouragement still to wait on him. 

Honoured Mother, 

Your Dutiful Daughter, 

Hannah Hewling. 

When I came to Taunton, to Mr. Benjamin Hewling, he had 
received the News of his Brother's being gone to die with so much 
Comfort and Joy, and afterwards of the continued Goodness of 
God increasing it to the End. He exprest to this Effect, We 
have no Cause to fear Death, if the Presence of God be with 
us ; there is no Evil in it, the Sting being taken away ; it's 
nothing but our Ignorance of the Glory that the Saints pass 
into by Death, which makes it appear dark for our selves or 
Relations ; if in Christ, what is this World that we should desire 
an Abode in it ? It's all vain and unsatisfying, full of Sin and 
Misery : Intimating also his own chearful Expectations soon to 
follow, discovering then, and all along great Seriousness, and 
Sense of Spiritual and Eternal Things, complaining of nothing 
in his present Circumstances, but Want of a Place of Retire- 
ment to converse more uninterruptedly with God and his own 



Wbt ^ttoltnggf* 137 

Soul, saying, That his lonely Time in Newgate was the sweetest 
in his whole Life. He said, God having some Time before struck 
his Heart (when He thought of the Hazard of his Life) to some 
serious Sense of his past Life, and the great Consequences of 
Death and Eternity, shewing him, that they were the only happy 
Persons that had secured their Eternal States : The folly and 
Madness of the Ways of Sin, and his own Thraldom therein, 
with his utter Inability to deliver himself ; also the Necessity of 
Christ for Salvation : He said it was not without Terror and 
Amazement for some Time, the Sight of unpardoned Sin, with 
Eternity before him. But God wonderfully opened to him the 
Riches of his Free Grace in Christ Jesus for poor Sinners to 
flee to, enabling to look alone to a Crucified Christ for Salvation : 
He said this blessed Work was in some Measure carried on 
upon his Soul, under all his Business and Hurries in the Army ; 
but never sprung forth so fully and sweetly till his close Confine- 
ment in Newgate. There he saw Christ and all Spiritual 
Objects more clearly, and embraced them more strongly ; there 
he experienced the Blessedness of a reconciled State, the 
Excellency of the Ways of Holiness, the Delightfulness of 
Communion with God, which remained with very deep and 
apparent Impressions on his Soul, which he frequently expressed 
with Admiration of the Grace of God towards him. He said, 
Perhaps my Friends may think this Summer the saddest Time 
of my Life ; but I bless God it hath been the sweetest and 
most happy of it all ; nay, there is nothing else worth the Name 
of Happiness. I have in vain sought Satisfaction from the 
Things of this World, but I never found it ; but now I have 
found Rest for my Soul in God alone. 

O how great is our Blindness by Nature, till God open our 
Eyes, that we can see no Excellency in Spiritual Things, but 
spend our precious Time in pursuing Shadows, and are deaf to 
all the Invitations of Grace, and Glorious Offers of the Gospel! 
How just is God in depriving us of that we so much slighted 
and abused ! Oh ! his infinite Patience and Goodness, that after 
all he should yet sanctifie any Methods to bring a poor Sinner 
to himself : Oh ! Electing Love, Distinguishing Grace ! What 
great Cause have I to admire and adore it ! 

He said, What an amazing consideration is the suffering of 



138 %l)t Wlz&tzm ^ranssacttong* 

Christ for Sin, to bring us to God j his suffering from wicked 
?nen was exceeding great; but alas, what was that to the 
Dolours of his Soul, under the infinite Wrath of God f This 
Mystery of Grace and Love is enough to swallow up our 
Thoughts to all Eternity. 

As to his own Death, he would often say, He saw no Reason 
to expect any other; I know God is infinitely able to deliver ; and 
I am sure will do it, if it be for his Glory, and my Good; in 
which, I. bless God, I am fully satisfied; ifs all my Desire 
that he would chuse for me, and then I ai?i sure it will be 
best, what ever it be; for truly, unless God have some Work for me 
to do in the World for his Service and Glory, I see nothing 
else to make Life desirable : In the present State of Affairs, 
there is nothing to cast our Eyes up07i, but Sin, Sorrow, and 
Misery : And truly, were Things never so ?nuch according 
to our Desires, ifs but the World still, which will never be 
a Resting-place. Heaven is the only State of Rest and Happi- 
ness ; there we shall be perfectly free from Sin and Temptation, 
and enjoy God without Interruption for ever. 

Speaking of the Disappointment of their Expectations in the 
Work they had undertaken, he said with Reference to the Glory 
of God, the Prosperity of the Gospel, and the Delivery of the 
People of God, We have great Cause to lament it ; but for that 
outward Prosperity that would have accompanied it, it's but of 
small Moment in it self; as it could not satisfie,so neither could it 
be abiding ; for at longest, Death would have put an End to it 
all : Also adding, Nay, perhaps we might have been so foolish, 
as to have been taken with that Part of it, with the Neglect of 
our eternal Concerns ; and then, I am sure, our present Circum- 
stances are incomparably better. 

He frequently expressed great Concern for the Glory of God, 
and Affection to his People, saying, If my Death may advance 
God's Glory, and hasten the Deliverance of his People, it is 
enough ; saying, It was a great Comfort to him, to think of so 
great a Priviledge as an Interest in all their Prayers. 

In his Converse particularly valuing and delighting in those 
Persons, where He saw most Holiness shining ; also great Pity 
to the Souls of others, saying, That the Remembrance of our 
former Vanity may well cause Compassion to others in that 



%$z ^rtDlmffg. 139 

State. And in his Converse prompting others to Seriousness, 
telling them, Death and Eternity are such weighty Concerns, 
that they deserve the utmost Intention of our Minds ; for the 
Way to receive Death chearfully, is to prepare for it seriously ; 
and if God should please to spare our Lives, surely we have the 
same Reason to be serious, and spend our remaining Days in his 
Fear and Service. 

He also took great Care that the Worship of God, which they 
were in a Capacity of maintaining there, might be duly per- 
formed ; as Reading, Praying, and Singing of Psalms, in which 
he evidently took great Delight. 

For those three or four Days before their Deaths, when there 
was a general Report that no more should die ; he said, / don't 
k7iow what God hath done beyond our Expectations ; if he doth 
prolong my Life, I am sure it is all his own, and by his Grace 
I will wholy devote it to him. 

But the 29th of Septe7nber, about Ten or Eleven at Night, we 
found the Deceitfulness of this Report, they being then told 
they must die the next Morning, which was very unexpected, as 
to the Suddenness of it ; but herein God glorified his Power, 
Grace, and Faithfulness, in giving suitable Support and Comfort 
by his blessed Presence, which appeared upon my coming to 
him at that Time, finding him greatly composed : he said, 
Though men design to surprise, God doth and will perform his 
Word, to be a very present Help in Trouble. 

The next Morning when I saw him again, his Chearfulness 
and Comfort were much increased, waiting for the Sheriff with 
the greatest Sweetness and Serenity of Mind ; saying, Now the 
will of God is detennined, to whom I have referred it, and he 
hath chosen most certainly that which is best. 

Afterward with a smiling Countenance he discoursed of the 
Glory of Heaven, remarking with much Delight, the third, 
fourth, and fifth Verses of the 2 2d of the Revelations, And 
there shall be no more Curse j but the Throne of God, and of the 
Lamb, shall be in it, and his Servants shall serve him, and they 
shall see his Face, and his Name shall be in their Foreheads, 
and there shall be no Night there, and they shall need no Ca?idle 
nor Light of the Sun, and they shall reign for ever and ever. 
Then he said, Oh, what a happy State is this / Shall we be loth 



140 %%t aaie0tern ^rangactfonsf* 

to go to enjoy this / Then he desired to be read to him, 2 Cor. 5. 
For we know that if our earthly House of this Tabernacle were 
dissolved, we have a building of God, a House not made with 
Hands, eternal in the Heavens; to the tenth or eleventh Verses. 
In all, his Comforts still increasing, expressing his sweet Hopes 
and good Assurance of his Interest in this glorious Inheritance, 
and being now going to the Possession of it, seeing so much of 
this happy Change, that he said, Death was more desirable than 
Life ; he had rather die than live any longer here. As to the 
Manner of his Death, he said, When I have considered others 
tender these Circumstances, I have thought it very dreadful, but 
now God hath called me to it, I bless God I have quite other 
Apprehensions of itj I can now chearfully embrace it as an 
easie Passage to Glory : And though Death separates from the 
Enjoyments of each other here, it will be but for a very short 
Time, and then we shall meet in such Enjoyments as now we 
cannot conceive, and for ever rejoyce in each other's Happiness. 
Then reading the Scriptures, and musing with himself, he 
intimated the great Comfort God conveyed to his Soul in it ; 
saying, O what an invaluable Treasure is this blessed Word of 
God; in all Conditions here is a Store of strong Consolation. 
One desiring his Bible, he said, No, this shall be my Co?npanion 
to the last Moment of my Life. Thus praying together, reading, 
meditating, and conversing of Heavenly Things, they waited for 
the Sheriff, who, when he came, void of all Pity or Civility, 
hurried them away, scarce suffering them to take Leave of their 
Friends. But notwithstanding this, and the doleful Mourning 
of all about them, the Joyfulness of his Countenance was 
encreased. Thus he left his Prison, and thus he appeared in 
the Sledge, where they sat about half an Hour, before 
Officers could force the Horses to draw, at which they 
were greatly enraged, there being no visible Obstruction 
from Weight or Way. But at last the Mayor and Sheriff 
halFd them forwards themselves, Balaam-like driving the 
Horses. 

When they came to the Place of Execution, which was sur- 
rounded with Spectators, many that waited their Coming with 
great Sorrow, said, That when they saw him and them come 
with such Chearfulness and Joy, and Evidence of the Presence 



<&lje l&rtDlmflfl* 141 

of God with them, it made Death appear with another 
Aspect. 

They first embraced each other with the greatest Affection ;* 
then two of the Elder Persons praying audibly, they joined with 
great Seriousness. Then he desired Leave of the Sheriff to pray 
particularly, but he would not grant it, only askt him if he would 
pray for the King ? He answered, / pray for all Men. He 
then requested they might sing a Psalm j the Sheriff told him, 
It must be with the Ropes about their Necks; which they chear- 
fully accepted, and sung with such heavenly Joy and Sweetness, 
that many present said, It both broke and rejoyced their 
Hearts, 

Thus in the Experience of the Delightfulness of praising God 
on Earth, he willingly closed his Eyes on a vain World, to pass 
to that Eternal Employment, Sept. 30. 1685. 

All present of all Sorts were exceedingly affected and amazed. 
Some Officers that had before insultingly said, Surely these Per- 
sons have no Thoughts of 'Death , but will find themselves sur- 
prised by it j after said, That they now saw he and they had some- 
thing extraordinary within, that carried them through with 
such yoy. Others of them said, They were so convinced of their 
Happiness, that they would be glad to change Conditions with 
them. All the Soldiers in general, and all others, lamenting 
exceedingly, saying, That it was so sad a Thing, to see them so 
cut off, they scarce knew how to bear it. 

Some of the most malicious in the Place, from whom nothing 
but Railing was expected, said, (as they were carried to their 
Grave in Taunton Church, voluntarily accompanied by most of 
the Town) That these Persons had left a sufficient Evidence, 
that they were now glorified Saints in Heaven. 

A great Officer in the King's Army has been often heard to 
say, That if you would learn to die, go to the Young Men of 
Taunton. 

Much more was utter'd by them, which shewed the blessed 
and glorious Frames of their Hearts, (to the Glory of Divine 
Grace) but this is what occurs to Memory. 

Mr. Benjamin Hewling, about two Hours before his Death, 
writ this following Letter, which shewed the great Composure of 
his Mind. 



142 %%t Wltgmn ^rartgfacttongf^ 

Mr. Hewling's Last Letter a little before his Exe- 
cution, Taunton, Septemb. 30. 1685. 

Honoured Mother, 

That News which I know you have a great while feared, and 
we expected, I must now acquaint you with, That notwith- 
standing the Hopes you gave in your two last Letters, Warrants 
are come down for my Execution, and within these few Hours 
I expect it to be performed. Blessed be the Almighty God that 
gives Comfort and Support in such' a Day ; how ought we to 
magnifie his holy Name for all his Mercies, that when we were 
running on in a Course of Sin, he should stop us in full Career, 
and shew us that Christ whom we had pierced, and out of his 
Free Grace enable us to look upon him with an Eye of Faith, 
believing him able to save to the utmost all such as come to 
him. Oh admirable long-suffering Patience of God, that when 
we were dishonouring his Name, he did not take that Time to 
bring Honour to himself by our Destruction. But he delighteth 
not in the Death of a Sinner, but had rather he should turn to 
him and live : And he has many Ways of bringing his own to 
himself. Blessed be his Holy Name, that through Affliction he 
has taught my Heartln some Measure to be comformable to his 
Will, which worketh Patience, and Patience worketh Experience, 
and Experience Hope, which maketh not ashamed. I bless 
God I am not ashamed of the Cause for which I lay down my 
Life ; and as I have engaged in it, and fought for it, so now I 
am going to seal it with my Blood. The Lord still carry on the 
same Cause which hath been long on Foot ; and tho' we die in 
it and for it, I question not but in his own good Time he will 
raise up other Instruments more worthy to carry it on to the 
Glory of his Name, and the Advancement of his Church and 
People. 

Honoured Mother, I know there has been nothing left un- 
done by you, or my Friends, for the Saving of my Life, for which 
I return many hearty Acknowledgments to your self and them 
all ; and it's my dying Request to you and them, to pardon all 
Undutifulness and Unkindness in every Relation. Pray give 
my Duty to my Grandfather and Grandmother, Service to my 
Unkles and Aunts, and my dear Love to all my Sisters ; to every 



%%t I£etolinff& 143 

Relation and Friend a particular Recommendation. Pray tell 
; em all how precious an Interest in Christ is when we come to 
die, and advise them never to rest in a Christless Estate. For 
if we are his, it's no Matter what the World do to] us, they can 
but kill the Body, and blessed be God the Soul is out of their 
Reach, for I question not but their Malice wishes the Damnation 
of that, as well as the Destruction of the Body ; which has too 
evidently appeared by their deceitful flattering Promises. I 
commit you all to the Care and Protection of God, who has 
promised to be a Father to the Fatherless, and a Husband to 
the Widow, and to supply the Want of every Relation. The 
Lord God of Heaven be your Comfort under these Sorrows, and 
your Refuge from those Miseries we may easily foresee coming 
upon poor England, and the poor distressed People of God in 
it. The Lord carry you through this Vale of Tears with a 
resigning, submissive Spirit, and at last bring you to himself in 
Glory ; where I question not but you will meet your dying Son, 

Benjamin Hewling. 

Their Characters. 

They were both of sweet and obliging Tempers, as has 
appeared in their History, it being a very hard Matter for their 
worst Enemies, when they once knew 'em well, not to honour 
and love 'em. Mr. Benjamin, the Elder, reconciled the Lamb 
and the Lion exactly. In the Field he seem'd made only for 
War, and any where else, for nothing but Love. He, without 
Flattery, deserved to be called a very Fine Man, of a lovely 
Proportion, extreamly well made, as handsom a Meen, and 
good an Air, as perhaps few in England exceeded him : His 
Picture is pretty like him. 

The Younger, Mr. William, somewhat taller, and more 
slender. His Face fresh and lively, as his Spirit, being Master 
of an extraordinary Vivacity and Briskness of Temper. Both 
of 'em Vertuous, Pious, and Couragious, far above their Years, 
and indeed, seem'd to be Men too soon, one of em not being 
Twenty, the Eldest but Two and Twenty when they died ; 
verifying that common Observation, That whatever is perfect 
sooner than ordinary, has generally a shorter Period prefixed it, 
than what's more base and ignoble. 




i44 Wit MLmtxn 'Cran^atttonsf. 



MR. CHRISTOPHER BATTISCOMB. 

E was another Young Gentleman of a good Family, 
and very great Hopes, and of a fair Estate, which 
lay in Dorsetshire, somewhere between Dorchester 
and Lyme. He had studied some Time at the 
Te7nfile, and having Occasions in the Country about the Time 
of my Lord Russet's Business, he was there seized, on Suspicion 
of being concerned in it, and clapt into the County Goal at 
Dorchester, where he behaved himself with that Prudence and 
winning Sweetness, and shewed so much Wit, and innocent 
Pleasantry of Temper, as extreamly obliged both all his Keepers 
and Fellow-prisoners, and even Persons of the best Quality in 
that Town. ? Tis indeed a genteel, well bred Place, as almost 
any in England, at such a Distance from Londo?i. The Streets 
are fair and large, and Buildings pretty regular ; Two sweet, 
plentiful Rivers running by it. It stands on a Chalky Hill, but 
wants not Store of good Water. The Market-House is a plea- 
sant little Pile, that very much sets off the Town. There are 
Three Churches in it, and One in its adjoining Parish. ? Tis 
endowed with several Alms-houses, a good Grammar- School 
well enough provided, which has had the happiness of Ingenious 
Masters, and by their Care, produced no inconsiderable Number 
of good Scholars. There are two or three fine old Roman Forti- 
fications near the Town, which Camden and Speed take Notice 
of. The People on't are generally Civil and Gallant enough, if 
not a little on the extream that Way. They knew how to value 
such a Gentleman as Battzscomb, and made him such frequent 
Visits in the Prison, till the Place it self was so far from being 
scandalous, that there was generally all the Conversation, and 
where you might be sure to meet the best Company in the Town 
of both sexes. Mr. Battiscomb had the Happiness not to be dis- 
pleasing to the Fair Sex, who had as much Pity and Friendship 
for him as consisted with the Rules of Decency and Virtue ; and 
perhaps their Respect for him did not always stop at Friendship? 
tho' it still preserved the other Bounds inviolable. Pity is 



Q$v. Cljrtgtoptjer Batttgcomb* 145 

generally but a little Way from Love, especially when the Object 
of it is any thing extraordinary. But after he had been there 
some Time, and nothing could be proved against him which 
could any ways affect him, he was at length, almost un- 
willingly delivered from this Sort of happy Slavery. And when 
the Duke landed, appeared with him, and served him with 
equal Faith and Valour, till the Rout at Sedgmoor, when he 
fled with the rest, and got up as far as Devonshire, where he 
was seized in a Disguise, and brought to his Old Palace, the 
Prison at Dorchester. 

He behaved himself there the second Time in the same cour- 
teous, obliging Manner as he did at the first, tho' now he seemed 
more thoughtful and in Earnest than before, as knowing 
nothing was to be expected but speedy Death : though his 
Courage never droopt, but was still the same, if it did not 
increase with his Danger. At his trial Jeffreys railed at him 
with so much Eagerness and Barbarity, that he was observed to 
foam almost upon the Bench. He was so angry with him, 
because he was a Lawyer, and could have been contented all 
such as he should be hanged up without any Trial ; and truly 
'twas no great Matter whether he or the rest had had that 
Formality, or no. Mr. Battiscomb was as undaunted at the 
Bar, as in the Field, or at Execution. How he demeaned him- 
self in Prison before his Death, take this following Account 
verbatim, as 'twas written by his Friends. Tho' that which 
occurred most remarkable after his Sentence, must not be 
omitted. Several Young Ladies in the Town, among whom 
one, who is particularly mentioned in the Poem, went to Jeffreys 
to beg his Life, who repuls'd 'em at such a brutish Rate, as 
nothing with one Spark of Humanity would have been guilty 
of, and in a Manner even too uncivil to be mentioned. The 
Particulars may be seen in the Petition of the Widows and 
Orphans of that Country. 

The A ccount given of him by his Relations. 

He was observed to be always serious and chearful, ready to 
entertain Spiritual Discourse, manifesting Affection to God's 
People and his Ordinances ; he seemed to be in a very calm 

L 



146 %l)t ftfllegftem ^rangacttonsf* 

Indifference to Life or Death, referring himself to God to 
determine it, expressing his great Satisfaction as to some 
Opportunities of Escape that were slipt, saying, That truly he 
someti??ies thought the Cause was too good to flee fro?n suffering 
in it, though he would use all lawful Means for his Life; 
but the Providence of God having preve7tted this, he was surt it 
was best for him, for he said, he blest God he could look into 
Eternity with Comfort. He said, with Respect to Relations 
and Friends, to whom his Death would be afflictive, that he was 
willing to live, if God saw good; but for his own Part, he 
thought Death much more desirable. He said, / have enjoyed 
enough of this World, but I never found any thing but Vanity 
in it, no Rest or Satisfaction. God, who is an Infinite Spiritual 
Being, is the only suitable Object for the Soul of Man, which is 
Spiritual in its Nature, and too large to be made happy by all 
that this World ca7i afford, which is all but sensual. There- 
fore methinks, I see no Reason why I should be unwilling to 
leave it by Death, since our Happiness can never be perfected 
till then, till we leave this Body, where we are so continually 
clogged with Sin and Vanity, frivolous and foolish Trifles. 
Death in it self 'is indeed terrible, and Natter al Courage is too 
low to encounter it; nothing but an Interest in Christ can be 
our Co7nfort in it, he said, which Co77ifort I hope I have j in- 
timating much Advantage to his Soul by his former Imprison- 
ment. 

The Day he went from Dorchester to Ly77ie, after he had 
received the News of his Death the next Day, he was in the 
same serious Chearfulness, declaring still the same Apprehension 
of the Desireableness of Death, and the great Supports of his 
Mind under the Thoughts of so sudden passing through it, alone 
from the Hope of the Security of his Interest in Christ ; taking 
Leave of his Friends with this Farewel, The? we part here, we 
shall 77ieet in Heaven. Passing by his Estate, going to Ly77ie, 
he said, Farewel Te77tporal hiheritance, I a77i now going to 77iy 
Heavenly, Eternal One. At Ly7ne, the Morning that he died, 
it appeared that he had the same Supports from God, meeting 
Death with the same Chearfulness ; and after he had prayed 
a while to himself, without any Appearance of Reluctancy, 
yielded up his Spirit, Sept. 12. 1685. 



9£r* Cfjrigtopfjer 2Satt#comtu 147 

A further Account of the Behaviour of Mr. Christopher 
Battiscomb, of his last Speech and Prayer, immedi- 
ately before he suffered at Lyme, the 12th of Sep- 
tember, 1685. 

He was a true Protestant to the last, well beloved among the 
Gentry of that Country : But it was his Fortune to be concerned 
with the Duke of Monmouth, and was very faithful to him to the 
last, during the Time of the Bloody Assizes at Dorchester, where 
he received his Sentence of Death : he was divers Times sent 
for to the Chamber of the then L. C. J. and prompted with 
Offers of Life to betray some Gentlemen, which he always 
refused, saying, he scorned to purchase his Life by such indirect 
Means ; and he accordingly chose Death rather than Life ; 
seeing it could not be purchased, but by such unworthy Means. 
The Day being come, he prepared himself, and received the 
holy Sacrament, walking down to the Place of Execution, with 
much Chearfulness and Christian Courage; when he was 
mounting the Ladder, he smiled, and said, / am not afraid of 
this, I am going to a better Place, from a poor and miserable 
World, to a Celestial Paradise, a Heavenly Jerusalem; I 
might have chosen, whether I would have undergone this 
Death, if I had heark?ied to the L. C. J. bid it was tip on such 
unworthy Terms, that should I have accepted of my Pardon, 
it would have been troublesom to 7nej I die a True 
Protestant j I am i7i Charity with all Men : God preserve 
this Nation from Popery ; the Lord bless you all. So taking 
his Leave of them he knew, after Prayer, he launched into 
Eternity. 

A Poem on a Lady that came to my Lord Chief 
Justice, to beg Mr. Battiscomb 9 s Life, Sister to one 
of the Sheriffs in the West, which he denied. 

Harder than thine own Native Rocks ! 

To let the Charming Silvia kneel, 

And not one Spark of Pity feel ; 
Harder than sensless Stones and Stocks ! 

L 2 



148 <Q[$t MUe^tern ^rangactiong* 

Ye Gods ! What Showers of Pearls she gave ! 
What Precious Tears ! Enough to save 
A Bleeding Monarch from the Grave. 

By every hapless Virgin Curst : 

Winter Blasts not more unkind ; 
Deaf as the rugged Northern Wind ; 
By some Welsh Wolf in Murders nurst. 
Hast thou Eyes ? Or hast thou none ? 
Or are they worse than Marble grown ? 
Since Marbles weep at SilvicCs Moan. 

Rebels stiff, and supple Slaves, 

All the Frantick World divide, 
One must stoop, and t'other ride ; 
Cringing Fools, and Factious Knaves ; 
Tho' falling on the Loser's Part, 
Gentle Death arrests my Heart, 
And has in Honey dipt his Dart. 

Life farewel^ thou gaudy Dream, 

Painted o'er with Grief and Joys, 
Which the next short Hour destroys ; 
And drowns them all in Lethe's Stream : 
What blest Mortal would not die, 
Might he with me Embalmed lye, 
In Precious Tears from Silvia } s Eye ? 

His Character. 

All that knew or saw him, must own, Mr. Battiscomb was very 
much a Gentleman. Not that thin Sort of Animal that flutters 
from Tavern to Play-house, and back again, all his Life ; made 
up of Wig and Crevat, without one Dram of Thought in his 
Composition ; but one who had solid Worth, well drest and set 
out to the World. His Body made a very handsom and credit- 
able Tenement for his Mind ; and 't had been Pity it should 
have liv'd in any other. He was pretty tall, well made, I think, 
inclining to Black ; not altogether unlike Mr. Benjamin Hew- 
ling, as he has been thought to resemble the Duke of Monmouth. 



2t£r* aaiilltam ^tntyn. 149 

He was Witty, Brave, exactly Honourable, Pious, and Vertuous : 
And if ever that Character belonged to any Man, it did eminently 
to Mr. Baitiscoinb, That he lived universally Beloved, and died 
as generally Lamented. 




MR. WILLIAM JENKYN. 

IS Father was sufficiently known, and his Circum- 
stances hard enough, being seized only for his 
Opinion, and clapt up close in Newgate; where the 
Inconvenience of the Place, and Want of the Exer- 
cise he formerly enjoyed, quickly killed him, as he used to say 
before his Confinement, 'twould certainly do if ever it happened. 
Thus was he requited by that very Person, for whom with Mr. 
Love he ventured his Life so deeply, and so hardly escaped with 
it. 'Twas his inhumane Treatment which edged and animated 
his Son ; and the Revenge of his Father's Blood may be pre- 
sumed to have gone very far in pushing him on to engage his 
Life and Fortune in this undertaking, he having given Funeral 
Rings for his Father with this Posie, William Jenkyns, murder 'd 
in Newgate. He was his Father's only Son, who had taken 
Care to have him educated suitable to his Ingenuous Birth and 
Inclinations ; he improved sufficiently in all useful Learning, 
and was now about one or two and Twenty. He and several 
Young Gentlemen rode down from London a little before the 
Duke landed, and were taken on Suspicion, and laid up in 
Ilchester Goal, till the Duke himself came and relieved them. 
He continued in his Army till the Rout, when, if I mistake not, 
he got to Sea, and was forced back again with the Hewlings, or 
some others. He was condemned at the Bloody Assizes in 
Dorchester. 

A Friend discoursing to him at Dorchester about his Pardon, 
and telling him the Doubtfulness of obtaining it, he replied, 
Well, Death is the worst they can do, and I bless God, that will 
not surprize 7ne,for I hope 77iy great Work is done. At Taunton 
being advised to govern the Airiness of his Temper, telling him, 



150 W&t Wlzgtmx ^rangacttorus. 

it made People apt to censure him, as inconsiderate of his Con- 
dition, to which he answered, Truly, this is so much my natural 
Temper, that I cannot tell how to alter it j but I bless God I 
have, and do think seriously of my Eternal Concerns; I do not 
allow my self to be vain, but I find Cause to be Chearful,for my 
Peace is 7nade with God, through Jesus Christ my Lordj this is 
my only Ground of Co7iifort a?id Chearfulness, the Security of 
my Interest in Christ j for I expect nothing but Death, and with- 
out this Pam sure Death would be most dreadful j but having 
the good Hope of this, I cannot be melancholly. When he heard 
of the triumphant Death of those that suffered at Lyme, he said, 
This is a good Encouragement to depend upon God. Then 
speaking about the mangling of their Bodies, he said, Well, the 
Resurrection will restore all with great advafitage ; the 15th 
Chapter of the first of the Corinthians is Comfort enough for all 
Believers. Discoursing much of the Certainty and Felicity of 
the Resurrection at another Time, he said, / will (as I think I 
ought) use all lawful Means for the saving of my Life, and 
theft if God please to fotgive my Sins, I hope I shall as chear- 
fully embrace Death. Upon the Design of attempting an 
Escape, he said, We tise this Means for the preserving our 
Lives, but if God is not with us, it will not effect it j it is our 
Business first to seek to him for Direction and Success, if 
he sees good, with resigning our Lives to him, and then his 
Will be done. After the Disappointments, when there was no 
Prospect of any other Opportunity, he spake much of the 
Admirableness of God's Providence in those Things that seem 
most against us, bringing the greatest Good out of them ; for, 
said he, We can see but a little Way, God is only wise in all his 
Disposals of us ; if we were left to chuse for otir selves, we 
should chuse our own Misery. Afterwards discoursing of the 
Vanity and Unsatisfyingness of all Things in this World, he 
said, It is so in the enjoyifig, we never find our Expectations 
answered by any thing in it, and when Death comes it puts an 
End to all Things we have been pursuing here : Learning and 
Knowledge {which are the best Things in this World) will then 
avail nothing j nothing but an interest in Christ is then of any 
Worth. One reading to his Fellow- Prisoners, Jer. 42. 12, / 
will shew Mercy unto you, that he may have Mercy upon you > 



2t£r. aaiilliam 'itnfyn. 151 

an cause you to return to your own Land j he said, Yes, we 
shall, but not in this World, I am persuaded. September 29th 
at Night, after he heard he must die the next Morning, he was 
exceedingly composed and chearful, expressing his Satisfaction 
in the Will of God : The next Morning he was still more 
Spiritual and chearful, discovering a very sweet Serenity of 
Mind in all that he said and did : Whilst he was waiting for the 
Sheriff, reading the Scriptures, meditating and conversing with 
those about him of Divine Things, amongst other Things, said 
he, / have heard much of the Glory of Heaven, but I am now 
going to behold it, and understand what it is. Being desired to 
disguise himself to attempt an Escape, he said, No, I cannot tell 
how to disturb my self about it, and ?nethinks it is not my Busi- 
ness, now I have other Things to take up my Thoughts j if God 
saw good to deliver me, he would open some other doorj but see- 
ing he has not, -it is more for the Honour of his Name we should 
die, and so be it. One saying to him that most of the Apostles 
died a violent Death, he replied, Nay, a greater than- the Apostles 
our Lord himself died, not only a shameful, but a painful death. 
He further said, This Manner of Death hath been the most 
terrible Thing in the World to my Thoughts, but I bless God, 
now am I neither afraid nor ashamed to die. He said, The 
parting with my Friends, and their Grief for me, is my greatest 
Difficulty j but it will be but for a very short Time, and we 
shall meet again in endless Joys, where my dear Father is 
already entered, him shall I presently joyfully meet. Then 
musing with himself a while, he with an extraordinary Serious- 
ness sang these two Verses of one of Herberfs Poems : 

Death is still working like a Mole, 

Digging my Grave at each Remove, 
Let Grace work so, and on my Soul 
Drop from above, 

Oh come ! For thou dost know the Way ; 

Or if to me thou wilt not move, 
Remove me where I need not say, 

Drop from above. 

He then read the 53d of Isaiah, and said, He had heard many 
blessed Sermons from that Chapter, especially from the 16th 



152 %t>z WXz&mn ^ranssacttonss* 

Verse, All we like Sheep have gone astray ', we have turned every 
one to his own Way, but the Lord hath laid on him the Iniquities 
of us all j seeming to intimate some Impress made on his Soul 
from them, but was interrupted ; then he said, Christ is all : 
When the Sheriff came he had the same Chearfulness and 
Serenity of Mind in taking Leave of his Friends, and in the 
Sledge, which* seemed to increase to the last, (as those present have 
affirmed) joining in Prayer, and in singing a Psalm with great 
Appearance of Comfort and Joy in his Countenance, in so 
much that some of his Enemies (that had before censured his 
Chearfulness for Unthoughtfulness of his Danger, and therefore 
expected to see him much surprized) now professed they were 
greatly astonished, to see such a Young Man leave the World, 
and go through Death as he did. 

Mr. Jenkyn's Letter to Mrs. Scot, on the 26th of 
September, 1685. 
Dear Sister, 
The News which came in my Brother's Letter of the 2 2d 
Instant to Mr. Dewy, did not at all surprize me, for indeed I 
expected no other ; and seeing all Hopes of saving my Life are 
blasted, I thought my self bound to write a Line or two to so 
near a Relation as your self, wherein I might take my Leave of 
you, and bid you farewel, till we shall meet again in Glory, and 
never be separated more : As for my own Part, tho' such a Sort 
of Death as I am like to suffer, be that which I always dreaded, 
when at a Distance I have sometimes thought of it, yet I thank 
my God now it draws near, even but a few Hours off, I find 
my self supported under the Thoughts of it, and hope by his 
Strength, who will never forsake his own, I shall be enabled 
chearfully to undergo it with Glory to his Name, and Comfort to my 
own, and the Souls of others that are more nearly concerned forme ; 
and as I have made it my own Endeavour to submit to the Will 
of God in this sad Dispensation without murmuring or repining, 
I hope you have been sensible of your Duty in the same Respect, 
which is, patiently to submit to his Will, and eye his Hand in 
this severe Stroak : And tho' God has been pleased to deny 
Success to your Endeavours for the saving of my Life, yet I am 



®$z. ffiQiilliam 3flenfcptu 153 

satisfied nothing has been wanting on your Parts ; and for all 
the Trouble you have been at on my Account, tho' I do not live 
to shew my Gratitude, yet I render you my dying Thanks, and 
beg your Prayers for my Support in the last Moments of my 
Life. If you receive this before my Death, the certain Time of 
which I have not Notice of, pray remember my Love to my 
Brother, and Thanks for all Kindnesses ; and as for my Young 
Relations, my Prayer for them shall be, That they may see more 
happy Days than I have done, and die a more peaceable, I can- 
not say more happy Death. And now, dear Sister, I take my 
Leave of you, and commit you to the Protection of that God, 
who has made every Thing beautiful in his Time, and will shew 
you the Meaning of this Providence, which now we do not 
understand, to whom I trust I am now going, and into the 
Enjoyment of whose Presence I doubt not but e'er long you will 

meet, dear Sister, 

Your affectionate Brother, 

William Jenkyn. 

Mr. Jenkyn's Letter to his Mother, on the 29th of 
September, at 12 at Night, Taunton. 

Dear and Honoured Mother, 
I have even now received the News of Execution to Morrow, 
which, tho' I have so short Notice of, yet I hope I am prepared 
for it, and by God's Strength enabling me, I shall joyfully be 
carried through it : The Kindness you have been pleased to 
shew in your great Concern for me since I have been under this 
Trouble, as well as the Duty I owe to so near a Relation as your 
self, engages me to acquaint you with my present Condition for 
your Satisfaction, which truly is such, that I must beg you to 
accept this present Letter for my last Farewel : And tho' this 
sad Providence cannot but be grievous to so near and affection- 
ate a Relation as your self, yet I hope it already has, and still 
does, yield the peaceable Fruits of Righteousness to your self 
and me, who have been severely exercised with it : As for my 
own Part, I hope I can truly say, that God has by his Providence 
weaned me from the World, and made me willing to leave it, and 
to be dissolved, that I may be with Christ, which is far better : 



154 ^t HSlzttmn r d:ran0actton0. 

And now I am come to die ; I hope I can truly say, I have 
nothing else to do but to die ; and having fought a good Fight, 
and finished my Course, I am now in Expectation of that Crown 
of Reward, which God the Righteous Judge of the whole 
Earth has promised to all those that love his Appearing and 
as it is my great Work to be now every Moment fitting my 
self for my great and last Change, so ? tis the Duty which 
belongs to you, and the rest of my dear Relations, to resign me 
up into the Hands of that God, whose I am, and to whom I am 
going, and not repine at his Righteous Will, which we ought 
quietly to submit unto. I bless God I die with a clear Conscience, 
and though I have deserved much worse at the Hands of God 
for my past Sins, than I am like to undergo, yet I count, with 
Respect to Man, I die a Martyr for the Protestant Religion, and 
meerly for doing my Duty in opposing of that Flood of Popery, 
which seemed to be just overwhelming the Church and Interest 
of Christ in these Nations ; and I wish that the Prudentialists 
of our Age, that have withdrawn their helping Hand from so 
glorious a Design, do not within a few Days feel the Smart they 
have deserved by this their Baseness. But being now just leaving 
the World, it's grievous to look back on these Things ; where- 
fore, dear and honoured Mother, I take Leave of you also, 
hoping that I shall again meet with you in that Place of Happi- 
ness, where all Tears shall be wiped down from our Eyes, and 
we shall sorrow no more. I have nothing more to say, but to 
return you my dying Thanks for all the Trouble and Care you 
have been at for the saving my Life, which tho 5 God has not 
thought fit to make successful, yet my Thankfulness is equally 
due to you for your Endeavours, as if he had ; therefore I shall 
end with the subscribing my self, 

Dear and Honoured Mother, 

Your Thankful and Dutiful Son, 

William Jenkyn. 

Mr. Jenhyn's Letter to Mrs. Gourden, on the 30th of 

September, 1685. at 4 Morning, Taunton. 

Dear Sister, 
Though you are at a great Distance from my Eye, yet you 
are very near my Heart, so that to leave the World before I 



9£r* MliUiant' 3|enfcpn* 155 

have wrote a Line or two to bid you farewel, and comfort you 
under this sad Providence, would be uncomfortable to me : I 
hope you have by this Time learnt how to welcome evil as well 
as good Tidings, and submit to the wise Disposer of all Things, 
who knows what is good for us, better than we do for our selves : 
Tho' I question not but the News of my Death, especially in such 
a violent manner, as within a few Hours I am to suffer it, will 
be afflictive to you ; yet I would beg you to consider the 
Happiness which I am gone to, but a few Years sooner taken 
out of a wicked and troublesom World unto the Quire of 
triumphant Martyrs in £lory, which place of Happiness, tho' I 
have not deserved by any thing of my own Merits, yet for the 
Merits of my Mediator and Saviour, who has purchased more 
for me, than can enter into my Heart to conceive, I doubt not 
but to have a Mansion prepared for me in that Place, where the 
Wicked cease from troubling, and the Weary are at Rest. And 
now, dear Sister, I have nothing more to do in this World, but 
to be preparing and fitting my self for this Place of Rest, which 
within a few Hours I am going to. I therefore leave you and 
yours to the Protection and Blessing of God, who is able to keep 
and support you under this and all other his afflictive Provi- 
dences, and bring a good Issue out of them ; and who will in 
his own good Time conduct you safe to that Place of Happiness, 
where you will meet alone for Christ's Sake, 
Dear, Dear Sister, 

Your Loving and Affectionate Brother, 

William Jenkyn. 

Pray remember my Love and Respects to my Brother, and all 
that enquire after me. 

His Character. 

He was a very promising and ingenious young Gentleman ; 
he had a great deal of ready Wit, and an extraordinary Briskness 
and Gaitey. He was a very good Scholar, had run through a 
Course of Philosophy ; but his particular Inclination was to the 
Mechanical Part of it, wherein he had a very happy Genius, and 
performed many pretty Things. He wrote very good clean 
Latin. He was indifferent tall, pretty thin, a fair Complexion, 



156 W$z Mt&tztn ^rangactionsu 

his Nose a little inclining to one Side, being hurt in his Infancy. 
He led a sober, vertuous Life, and dy'd a happy Death at 
Taunton , September 30, 1685. 




LADY LISLE. 

?AD those Persons who suffered about Momnouth's 
Business, fell only into the Hands of Cannibals, 
some of 'em, at least, had 'scaped better than they 
did from Jeffreys. Those more tame and civil 
Creatures would have spared the Old and Whithered, though they 
had devoured the Young and Tender. But no Age, no Sex made 
any Difference here ; and as those who were just come into the 
World, Children and Girls of ten or a dozen Years old were refused 
Pardon ; so those who were half out of it, would not be suffered 
to tumble into the Grave intire, tho', as Juvenal says of Priam, 
they had scarce Blood enough left to singe the Knife of the 
Sacrifices. An Instance of this was my Lady Lisle, of such an 
Age, that she almost slept on her very Trial, condemned for as 
small a Matter as has been known, by one of those dormant 
Laws, made only in Terrorem, but hardly ever executed only for 
corresponding with Nelthorp, an out-law'd Person, and, as was 
pretended, giving him Shelter at her House, and Hicks, who 
brought him thither. For Hicks, he was not then convicted, 
nor in any Proclamation, and so 'tis a Question whether she 
could, even in Rigour of Law, deserve Death on his Account. 
For Nelthorp, he himself says in his last Speech, [That he was 
wholly a Stranger to that worthy Lady ; neither did she, as he 
verily believes, know who he was, or his Name, till he was 
taken.] For this she was found Guilty, and lost her Head at 
Winchester. Her Case was thought so hard, that the Honour- 
able House of Parliament have now reverst her Judgment. At 
her Death she made the following Speech. 

The last Speech of the Lady Alicia Lisle. 

Gentlemen, Friends, and Neighbours, it may be expected that 
I should say something at my Death, and in Order thereunto I 



3Lati£ JLi&lt. 157 

shall acquaint you, that my Birth and Education was both near 
this Place, and that my Parents instructed me in the Fear of 
God, and I now die of the Reformed Protestant Religion ; 
believing that if ever Popery should return into this Nation, it 
would be a very great and severe Judgment; that I die in 
Expectation of the Pardon of all my Sins, and of Acceptance 
with God the Father, by the imputed Righteousness of Jesus 
Christ, he being the End of the Law for Righteousness to every 
one that believes ; I thank God through Jesus Christ, that I do 
depart under the Blood of Sprinkling, which speaketh better 
Things than that of Abel j God having made this Chastisement 
an Ordinance to my Soul. I did once as little expect to come 
to this Place on this Occasion, as any Person in this Place or 
Nation ; therefore let all learn not to be high-minded, but fear : 
The Lord is a Soveraign, and will take what Way he sees best 
to glorifie himself, in and by his poor Creatures ; and I do 
humbly desire to submit to his Will, praying to him, That I may 
possess my Soul in Patience. The Crime that was laid to my 
Charge, was for entertaining a Nonconformist Minister and 
others in my House ; the said Minister being sworn to have 
been in the late Duke of Monmouth's Army ; but I have been 
told, that if I had denied them, it would not at all have affected 
me ; I have no Excuse but Surprise and Fear, which I believe 
my Jury must make Use of to excuse their Verdict to the World. 
I have been also told, That the Court did use to be of Counsel 
for the Prisoner ; but instead of Advice, I had Evidence against 
me from thence; which tho' it were only by hearsay, might 
possibly affect my Jury ; my Defence being but such, as might 
be expected from a weak Woman ; but such as it was, I did not 
hear it Repeated again to the Jury ; which, as I have been 
informed, is usual in such Cases. However, I forgive all the 
World, and therein all those that have done me wrong ; and in 
particular, I forgive Colonel Penruddock, although he told me, 
that he could have taken these Men before they came to my 
House. And I do likewise forgive him, who desired to be taken 
away from the Grand Jury to the Petty Jury, that he might be 
the more nearly concerned in my Death. As to what may be 
objected in Reference to my Conviction, that I gave it under my 
Hand, that I had discoursed with Nelthropj that could be no 



158 ^Ije Mtgtzzn Crangacttongu 

Evidence against me, being after my Conviction and Sentence : 
I do acknowledge his Majesty's Favour in revoking my Sen- 
tence ; I pray God to preserve him, that he may long reign in 
Mercy, as well as Justice, and that he may reign in Peace ; and 
that the Protestant Religion may flourish under him. I also 
return Thanks to God and the Reverend Clergy, that assisted 
me in my Imprisonment. 

Alicia Lisle. 




MR. RICHARD NELTHROP. 

IS Name is often enough met with in Wesfs and 
Rumsetfs Plot, and good Reason too, he being not 
near to answer for himself. As to what he was 
accused, out-lawed, and executed for, his being con- 
cerned in a Design for the Assassination of the King and Duke, 
he solemnly avers, as may be seen below in his Speech, {That 
he was always highly against it, and detested any such Thing, 
was never in the least concerned in it, neither in Purse or 
Person; never knew of any Arms bought for that Intent, nor 
did believe there was any such Design^ Than which, what 
Words could be more full and satisfactory ? He went away in 
the heat of Swearing, and returned with the Duke of Monmouth, 
thinking it his Duty, as he says, to hazard his Life for the 
Preservation of the Protestant Religion and English Liberties ; 
but as to the Duke of Monmouth's being declared King, he was 
wholly passive in it. He was first committed to Salisbury 
Prison, where he had several Disputes with a Learned and 
Good Man, whose Opinion then differed from his, concerning 
the Lawfulness of defending our selves by Arms against illegal 
Violence, which was his firm Judgment. Thence he was 
brought to London, and imprisoned in Newgate. He rejected 
there, with Scorn, some Offers made him of saving his own 
Life by taking away other Mens ; and tho' he was under inex- 
pressible Trouble during his close Confinement there, which at 
length arose to Distraction, and the Impair of his Reason ; yet 



9£i\ BicfjarU ilMtfjrop* 159 

'tis remarkable that he, as Batenici7i before him, before he came 
to die, after Sentence, was very calm and lively again, the entire 
Exercise of his Judgment and Understanding returning, with 
more Joy and Comfort than he had before Pain and Misery. 
He writ one Letter to his Parents, another to his Children, here 
inserted together with his last Speech at his Execution the 30th 
of Octob. 1685. At 2 in the Morning he wrote the Letter to his 
Parents, &c. 

Wherein he speaks much of his Brother, and Fellow- Sufferer, 
Mr.* Ayloff, if I mistake not, whom he says, [He could embrace 
with more Joy in the Field of Sufferings than ever he could 
have done had he met him in the Field crown' d with Victoiy 
and Lawrels.] 

Mr. Richard Nelthrop's Letter to his Parents, 
• Brothers, and Sister. 

Dearest Parents, and ever loving brothers, and 
tender-hearted and beloved slster. 

Through the infinite Goodness of God, the nearer I approach 
my End, the more Joy and Comfort I find in my suffering 
Estate, (that I may so call it :) I can through Mercy say, that I 
have found more true Delight and Content this Night, than in 
all the Days and Nights of my whole Life ; and I hope the Lord 
will continue it, that his Name may be glorified by me the 
meanest and poorest of all his Servants, but through free Grace 
faithful unto the End : My soul is ravished, I can hardly write, 
and my Comforts are more unspeakable than my Terrors were. 
I did this Evening see my dearest Brother and Companion ; 
his Face was to me as that of an Angel, and he gave me that 
Comfort, that I cannot but say my Love to him is beyond what 
I ever had to my dearest Relations. When God comes, every 
Thing has a Beauty and Lustre upon it, here is an Answer of 
Prayers, and such an Answer, as, dearest Relations, must engage 
you all to be constant in the Performance of that Duty, which, 
like Jacob's Ladder, tho' it stand upon the Earth, yet it reaches 

* This pious and couragious Man, Mr. Ayloff, suffered Martyrdom in 
London , about the same Time that Mr. Nelthrop did. 



160 Ctje Mz&mn ^rangacttongf* 

up to Heaven : Here's the Love of God made manifest to a 
poor Sinner at the last Hour, like the Thief upon the Cross, 
he that never knew before what the Love of God was to his 
Soul, finds it now filled with it, and running over. Now bless 
the Lord, O my Soul ! Yea, all that is within me, bless his holy 
Name for this Dispensation. Now Light appears out of Dark- 
ness in the Face of Jesus ; now all worldly Joy and Comforts 
seem to me (as they are) Things not hard to part with ; Father, 
Mother, Brothers, Sister, Wife, Children, House, and Lands are 
(as my dear Saviour saith) to be parted with for him, or we are 
not worthy of him : I bless his Name, I find no Reluctancy 
to do it ; he has brought me to his Foot-stool, and I can say 
heartily, The Will of the Lord be done in this Matter. I never 
before but saw a Beauty in worldly Comforts, but now those seem 
so faded by the greater Lustre and Beauty, that I see in God in 
Christ Jesus, that I am astonished where I have been wandering 
all my Days, spending my Time and my Money for that which 
is not Bread. O strive to get a Taste of this Love of God in 
Christ Jesus ! And it will perfectly wean you from this deceitful, 
foolish World. What is worldly Honour and Riches ? O set 
not your Hearts upon them, but get a Treasure in Heaven, that 
your Hearts may be there also. O lose no Time ! For if you 
ever knew the Sweetness of it, you would never be at Rest till 
you found him whom your Soul loved ; it will be more, yea, in- 
finitely more than all worldly Injoyments can afford you, tho' in 
their greatest Perfection ; it will make your Life sweet, and your 
Death most comfortable : It is the Bread which this World 
knoweth not of, and therefore maketh little or no Inquiry after 
it. Dearest Relations, whilst you and my other dear Friends 
are like Aaron and Hur, holding up the Hands of Moses, I am 
through Grace, getting Victory over the Amalekites. I can 
embrace my dear and beloved Brother and Companion with 
more Joy in the Field of suffering, than ever I could have done, 
had I met him crowned with the Lawrels of Victory : O the 
Mercy to die with such a Friend, and such a valiant Souldier of 
Jesus, who hath kept his Garments clean. I now begin to pity 
you that stay behind, who have many Temptations to conflict 
with ; for a little, yea, a very little Time, and my Warfare will 
be accomplished ; and if God continue his Love and Influence 



9£r* EicljarD ipelt^rop. 161 

upon my Soul, it will be both short and sweet. I have little of 
this World about me, I leave you all the Legacy of what was 
ever dearest to me, the best of Wives, and five poor Children, 
who must pass through an evil and sinful World ; but I have 
committed them to God, who hath commanded to cast our 
Fatherless Children and Widows upon him. Dear Parents, 
Brothers, Sister, all Adieu, my Time draws on, my Paper is 
finished, and your dying Child and Brother recommends you all 
to him who is All-sufficient, to the God of Peace that brought 
again from the Dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the 
Sheep, through the Blood of the everlasting Covenant, who will 
make you perfect in every good Work to do his Will, working in 
you that which is well-pleasing in his Sight, through Jesus 
Christ, to whom be Glory for ever and ever, Amen. 

Richard Nelthrop. 

From the Palace of Newgate, Oct. the 30th, 1685. Two of 
the Clock in the Morning. 

Mr. Richard Nelthrofi's Letter to his Children. 

My Dear Children, 
The Providence of God has so ordered it, that your poor and 
ever-loving Father is taken from you in such a Manner as may 
cast both worldly Loss and Reproach upon you ; but I charge 
you let not this be a Stumbling-block to you in the way of God, 
but that you remember your Creator in the Days of your Youth : 
That you never neglect a Day without reading the Holy 
Scripture, wherein you'll find your Duty both to God and Man ; 
there you'll find the Way to everlasting Life ; there you'll find 
Christ Jesus instructing you, and dying for you. Seek first the 
Kingdom of Heaven, and all other Things will be added to you : 
After your Duty to God Almighty, your dying Father charges 
and conjures you, that you will answer it at the great Day of 
Appearance of our dearest Saviour, that you be dutiful and 
loving to the best of Mothers, as long as God shall continue that 
great Mercy to you : Hearken to her Voice, and be obedient 
to the Words of her Mouth, for she'll be faithful to your Souls 
and Bodies ; and remember that Obedience to Parents hath the 

M 



162 <ZPje ffliesaftern tCcanjsactioti^ 

promise of this Life, as well as of Eternal Life. Pay a great 
Duty and Obedience to your Grandfather and Grandmother, 
Uncles and Aunt, who all of them have not only testified the 
greatest Love to your dying Father, but from whom, if you carry 
your selves as becomes you, you may expect both the good 
Things of this World, and Advice and Counsel for what is 
beyond all temporal Blessings. Diligence in ycur lawful Cal- 
lings to which God shall in his Providence appoint you, is both 
commendable, and a Duty ; but let not the eager Pursuit of the 
Things of this World, justle out the Time allotted for better 
Things ; Prayer will bless what you get in your Employments, 
and so at once you obtain God's Blessing upon worldly Mercies, 
and find God manifesting himself to you in his dear Son Christ 
Jesus, in Pardon of your Sins, and receiving worldly Things in 
the Covenant. Your tender Years, in which I leave you in this 
wicked and deceitful World, may render you subject to many 
Temptations ; but I commit you to the Father of the Fatherless, 
who is able to preserve you both in Soul and Body : Your poor 
Father hath no Legacy to leave you, but the Blessing of the 
great Jehovah, which he begs for you upon the bended Knees of 
his Soul. The Lord God bless you with the Dew of Heaven, 
and if he sees good, give you Jacob's Portion, Food and Rai- 
ment ; and if the Lord bless you with any temporal Goods, 
remember they are Talents, employ them well to the Masters 
Use : No Duty is so acceptable to God as Charity, that's it 
which your Saviour exalts so far that he says, Come ye Blessed 
of my Father, inherit the Kingdom j for I was an hungry and 
ye fed mej naked r and ye cloathed me j sick, and in Prison, and 
you visited me. I die and leave you, but if you keep close to 
God and his Ways, he will never leave you, nor forsake you. 
The sum of the whole is, Fear God, a?id keep his Com?nandments. 
Do that to all others, that you would they should do to you, is 
the Golden Rule of the Gospel, and will be a great Preservative 
to you from offending either God or Man. Eternity calls me 
away, and I have neither Time nor Opportunity to add more : 
Your duties may be various in the World, as servants, as 
Masters, as Husbands, as Wives, as Parents : There is no 
Condition of Life but hath its Comforts and its Troubles ; the 
Lord fit you for whatsoever Condition he calls you to, whether 



9£r, Eicljarti jpdtijrop- 163 

Honour or Dishonour, Riches or Poverty ; but Remember what- 
soever it be, it is God's Providence orders and governs the 
World. Dear James, as thou art the Eldest, strive to be the 
Best, and a good Example to the rest, a dutiful and a loving Son. 
Whatever thou or the rest have lost by me, God can make up in 
this Life. My dear Babes, who have been all Pledges of my 
Love by the best and most affectionte Wife ; I do once more beg 
it of you, as my last Request, that you obey, love, and honour 
her, who hath been the greatest worldly Blessing to your 
Father, and will never think anything too much to do for you. 
My dear Children, fare well, I must now take my Leave both of 
you and all worldly Comforts : I trust and hope I am going to 
the Eternal Inheritance, where Sin and Sorrow cease ; and that 
I may meet you at the Right Hand of my blessed Saviour, is the 
dying prayer of, 

Dear Children, 
Your Affectionate and Loving Father, 

Richard Nelthrop. 
Newgate, 29 Octob. 1685. 

Mr. Nelthrop's Last Speech. 

The great and inexpressible Trouble and Distraction I have 
been under since I came into Trouble, especially since close 
Confinement in Newgate, hath so broken my Reason, that for 
many Weeks last past, till the Day my Sentence was passed, I 
have not had any Composure of Mind, and have been under the 
greatest Trouble imaginable : Since my dearest Wife hath had 
the Favour granted her of coming to see me, I am at present 
under great Composedness of Mind, through the infinite Goodness 
of the Lord. As to what I stand out-lawed for, and am now sen- 
tenced to die, I can with Comfort appeal to the great God, be- 
fore whose Tribunal I am to appear, that what I did was in the 
Simplicity of my Heart, without seeking any private Advantage 
to my self ; but thinking it my Duty to hazard my Life for the 
Preservation of the Protestant Religion and English Liberties, 
which I thought invaded, and both in great Danger of being lost. 
As to the Design of Assassinating the late King, or his present 
Majesty, it always was a Thing highly against my Judgment, 

M 2 



164 W$t Wzgttvn ^rati0actton0* 

and which I always detested ; and I was never in the least con- 
cerned in it, neither in the Purse nor Person, nor never knew of 
any Arms bought for that intent, nor did I believe there was 
any such Design, or ever hear of any Disappointment in such 
an Affair, or Time, or Place, save what after the Discovery of the 
general Design, Mr. West spoke of, as to Arms bought by him : 
And as to my self, I was in the North when the late King was 
at New-market, and the first News I had of the Fire, was at 
Beverly in York-shire. As to my coming over with the late 
Duke of Monmouth, it was in Prosecution of the same Ends ; 
but the Lord in his Holy and wise Providence hath been pleased 
to blast all our Undertakings ; tho ? there seemed to be a very 
unanimous and zealous ^Spirit in all those that came from 
beyond the Seas : And as to the Duke of Monmouth s being- 
declared King, I was wholly passive in it, I never having been 
present at any publick Debate of that Affair, and should never 
have advised it, but complained of it to Colonel Holmes, and 

Captain Patchet. I believe the Lord Gray and Mr. F the 

Chief Promoters of it. As to the Temptation of becoming an 
Evidence, and bringing either into Trouble or Danger the 
meanest Person of his Life, upon the Account for which I suffer, 
I always abhorred and detested the Thoughts of it, both when 
in and out of Danger, and advised some very strongly against 
it ; except when under my Distraction in Prison, that amongst 
other Temptations did violently assault me ; but through the 
Goodness of my dearest God and Father, I was preserved from 
it, and indeed was wholly incapable, and could never receive the 
least Shadow of Comfort from it, but thought Death more 
eligible, and was some Time afore, out of my distracted and 
disquieted Condition, wholly free from it ; tho' not without other 
Temptations far more Criminal in the Sight of Men, I bless 
the Father of all Mercies, and God of all Consolations, that I 
find a great Resignedness of my Will to his, finding infinitely 
more Comfort in Death, than ever I could place in Life, tho' in 
a Condition that might seem honourable ; every Hour seeing 
the Will of God in ordering this Affair more and more cleared 
up to me. God hath given, God hath taken, blessed be his holy 
Name, that hath enabled me to be willing to suffer, rather than 
to put forth my Hand to Iniquity, or to say a Confederacy with 



9£r* EtdjarD jpeltljrop. 165 

those that do so. I am heartily and sincerely troubled for what 
hath happened, many Men's Lives being lost, and many poor 
distressed Families ruined : the Lord pardon what of Sin he 
hath seen in it. He in his wonderful Providence hath made me 
and others concerned, Instruments, not only for what is already 
fallen out, but, I believe, for hastening some other great Work 
he hath to do in these Kingdoms ; whereby he will try and 
purge his People, and winnow the Chaff from the Wheat ; the 
Lord keep those that are his, faithful unto the End. 

I die in Charity with all the World, and can readily and 
heartily forgive my greatest Enemies, even those that have been 
Evidences against me ; and I most humbly beg the Pardon of 
all that I have in the least any way injur' d ; and in a special 
Manner humbly ask Pardon of the Lady Listens Family and 
Relations, for that my being succoured there one Night with 
Mr. Hicks, brought that worthy Lady to suffer Death : I was 
wholly a Stranger to her Ladyship, and came with Mr. Hicks j 
neither did she (as I verily believe) know who I was, or my 
Name, till I was taken : And if any other have come to any 
Loss or Trouble, I humbly beg their Pardon ; and were I in a 
Condition, I would, as far as I was able, make them a Requital. 

As to my Faith, I neither look nor hope for Mercy, but only 
in the Free Grace of God, by the Application of the Blood of 
Jesus, my dearest and only Saviour, to my poor sinful Soul. My 
Distresses have been exceeding great as to my Eternal State, 
but through the infinite Goodness of God, tho' I have many 
Sins to answer for, yet I hope and trust, as to my Particular, 
that Christ came for this very End and Purpose, to relieve the 
Oppressed, and to be a Physician to the Sick. / come unto thee, 
O blesssd Jesus j refuse me not, but wash me in thine own 
Blood, and then present me to thy Father as righteous / What 
tho' my Sins be as Crimson, and of a Scarlet Dye ? Yet thou 
canst 7nake them as white as Snow. I see nothing in niy self 
but what must utterly ruin and condemn me, I cannot answer 
for one Action of my whole Life, but I cast my self wholly upon 
thee, who art the Fountain of Mercy, in whom God is reco?iciling 
himself to the World, the greatest of Sins and Sinners may 
find an A ll-sufficiency in thy Blood to cleanse 'em from all Sin. 
O dearest Father of Mercy, look upon me as righteous in and 



166 ^{je O&mtzn %vmmttiQn$. 

through the imputed Righteousness of thy Son ; he payed the 
Debt by his own offering up himself for Sin, and in that thy 
Justice is satisfied, and thy Mercy is magnified. Grant me thy 
Love, O dearest Father, assist me, and stand by me in the needful 
Hour of Death, give thy Angels Charge over my poor Soul, 
that the Evil One may ?wt touch nor hurt it. Defe?id ?ne frojn 
his Power, deliver me from his Rage, and receive me into thine 
Eternal Kingdom, in and thrd the alone Merits of ?ny dearest 
Redeemer, for whom I praise thee : To whom, with thy self and 
holy Spirit, be ascribed all Glory, Honour, Power, Might, and 
Do77iinion for and ever, Amen. 

Dear Lord Jesus, receive my Spirit, Amen. 

Newgate, Octob. 29. 1685. 

Richard Nelthrop. 




MRS. GAUNT. 



:NE of the great Reasons why Mrs. Gau?it was 
burnt, was, 'tis very possible, because she lived at 
IVappingj the honest Seamen, and hearty Protes- 
tants thereabouts, being such known Enemies to 
Popery and Arbitrary Government, that the Friends of both 
gave all who oppose it, the Name of Wappingers as an odious 
Brand and Title. She was a good, honest, charitable Woman, 
who made it her Business to relieve and help whoever suffered 
for the forementioned Cause, sparing no Pains, refusing no 
Office to get them Assistance, in which she was the most in- 
dustrious and indefatigable Woman living. Among others whom 
she had thus relieved, who were obnoxious Persons, was one 
Burtofi, whom with his Wife and Family she had kept from 
starving, for which (may the very Name of 'em be registered 
with eternal Infamy) they swore against her, and took away her 
Life : Tho', she says in her Speech, there was but one Witness 
against her as to any Money she was charged to give him, and 
that he himself, an Out-lawed Person, his Out-lawry not yet 
revers'd, he not being Out-lawed when she was with him, and hid 
him away. That which she writ in the Nature of a Speech, has 



2!pr0- (Batmt 167 

a great deal of Sense and Spirit, and some strange Expressions 
which were mentioned in the Introduction to all these Matters ; 
which she concludes with these Words addrest to her Enemies, 
[From her thatjinds no Mercy from you.] 

Were my Pen qualitied to represent the due Character of this 
Excellent Woman, it would be readily granted, That she stood 
most deservedly entituled to an Eternal Monument of Honour in 
the Hearts of all sincere Lovers of the Reformed Religion. All 
true Christians (tho' in some Things differing in Persuasion with 
her) found in her a Universal Charity and sincere Friendship, 
as is well known to many here, and also to a Multitude of the 
Scotch Nation, Ministers and others, who for Conscience Sake 
were formerly thrust into Exile. These found her a most 
refreshing Refuge. She dedicated her self with unwearied 
Industry, to provide for their Supply and Support, and therein 
(I do incline to think) she outstripped every individual Person 
(if not the whole Body of Protestants in this great City.) 
Hereby she became exposed to the implacable Fury of Bloody 
Papists, and those blind Tools who co-operated to promote their 
accursed Designs. And so there appeared little Difficulty to 
procure a Jury (as there were well-prepared Judges,) to make her 
a Sacrifice as a Traitor to the State. Her Judges, the King's 
Counsel, the Solicitor-General, the Common-Serjeant, &*c. 
rackt their Inventions to draw' Burton and his Wife to charge 
Mrs. Gaunt with the Knowledge of his being in a Plot, or in the 
Proclamation, but nothing of that could be made out, nor is 
here any Sort of Proof that Mrs. Gaunt harbour'd this ungrate- 
ful Wretch, or that she gave him either Meat or Drink, as the 
Indictment charges her ; but notwithstanding that, her Jury 
brought her in Guilty. 

The Sentence was executed upon this Excellent Woman upon 
Friday then following, being the 23d Octob. 1685. when she left 
her Murderers the following Memorial. 

Newgate, 22(1 of Octob. 1685. 

Mrs. Gaunt's Speech, written the Day before her Sufferings. 

Not knowing whether I should be suffered or able, because of 
Weaknesses that are upon me through my hard and close 



168 %lt %&z$tzm transaction^ 

Imprisonment, to speak at the Place of Execution ; I writ these 
few Lines to signifie, That I am well reconciled to the Way of 
my God towards me, though it be in Ways I looked not for ; 
and by Terrible Things, yet in Righteousness ; having given 
me Life, he ought to have the disposing of it, when and how he 
pleases to call for it ; and I desire to offer up my All to him,, it 
being but my reasonable Service ; and also the first Terms that 
Jesus Christ offers, that he that will be his Disciple, must for- 
sake all, and follow all ; and therefore let none think hard, or 
be discouraged at what hath happened at me ; for he doth 
nothing without Cause, in all he hath done to us, he being holy 
in all his Ways, and righteous in all his Works ; and 7 tis but 
my Lot in common with poor desolate Sion at this Day. Neither 
do I find in my Heart the least Regret for what I have done in 
the Service of my Lord and Master Jesus Christ, in succouring 
and securing any of his poor Sufferers, that have shewed Favour 
to his righteous Cause : Which Cause, though now it be fallen 
and trampled upon, as if it had not been anointed, yet it shall 
revive, and God will plead it at another Rate than ever he hath 
done yet, and reckon with all its Opposers and malicious 
Haters ; and therefore let all that love and fear him. not omit 
the least Duty that comes to Hand, or lyes before them, know- 
ing that now it hath need of them, and expects they shall serve 
him. And I desire to bless his holy Name, that he hath made 
me useful in my Generation to the Comfort and Relief of many 
Desolate Ones, and the Blessing of those that are ready to 
perish has come upon me, and being helpt to make the Heart of 
the Widow to sing. And I bless his holy Name, that in all 
this, together with what I was charged with, I can approve my 
Heart to him, that I have done His Will ; tho' it does cross 
Man's Will, and the Scriptures that satisfie me are, Isaiah 16. 4, 
Hide the Outcasts, betray not him that wandereth. And Obad, 
13. 14, Thou shouldst not have given tip those of his that did 
escape in the Day of his Distress. But man says, You shall 
give them up, or you shall die for it. Now who to obey, judge 
ye. So that I have Cause to rejoyce and be exceeding glad, 
in that I suffer for Righteousness Sake, and that I am accounted 
worthy to suffer for Well-doing, and that God has accepted any 
Service from me, which has been done in Sincerity, tho* mixed 



St^rgu (Batmt\ 169 

with manifold Infirmities, which he hath been pleased for 
Christ's Sake to cover and forgive. And now as concerning my 
Fact, as it is called, alas it was but a little one, and might 
well become a Prince to forgive ; but he that shews no Mercy, 
shall find none : And I may say of it in the Language of 
Jonathan, I did but taste a little Honey, and lo I must die for 
it. I did but relieve an unworthy, poor, distressed Family, and 
lo I must die for it. Well, I desire in the Lamb-like Gospel 
Spirit to forgive all that are concerned, and to say, Lord, lay it 
not to their Charge; but I fear he will not : Nay, I believe when 
he comes to make Inquisition for Blood, it will be found at the 
Door of the furious Judge ; who, because I could not remem- 
ber Things through my Dauntedness at Burton's Wife's and 
Daughter's Vileness, and my Ignorance, took Advantage thereat, 
and would not hear me, when I had called to Mind that which 
I am sure would have invalidated their Evidence ; tho' he 
granted something of the same Nature to another, yet denied it 
to me. My Blood will also be found at the Door of the un- 
righteous Jury, who found me Guilty upon the single Oath of an 
Out-lawed Man ; for there was none but his Oath about the 
Money, who is no legal Witness, though he be pardoned, his 
Out-lawry not being recalled ; and also the Law requires two 
Witnesses in Point of Life : And then about my going with him 
to the Place mentioned, 'twas by his own Words, before he was 
Out-lawed, for 'twas two Months after his absconding ; and 
tho' in a Proclamation, yet not High Treason, as I have heard ; 
so that I am clearly murdered by you. And also Bloody Mr. A. 
who has so insatiably hunted after my Life ; and though it is 
no Profit to him, through the ill Will he bore me, left no Stone 
unturned, as I have Ground to believe, till he brought it to 
this ; and shewed Favour to Burton, who ought to have died 
for his own Fault, and not bought his own Life with mine ; and 
Capt. R. who is cruel and severe to all under my Circumstances, 
and did at that Time, without all mercy or Pity, hasten my 
Sentence, and held up my Hand, that it might be given ; all 
which, together with the Great One of all, by whose Power all 
these, and a Multitude more of Cruelties are done, I do heartily 
and freely forgive, as agains.t me ; but as it is done in an im- 
placable Mind against the Lord Christ, and his righteous Cause 



170 %$z afllegftem transactions* 

and Followers, I leave it to him who is the Avenger of all such 
Wrongs, who will tread upon Princes as upon Mortar, and be 
terrible to the Kings of the Earth : And know 1 this also, that 
though ye are seemingly fixt, and because of the Power in your 
Hand, are writing out your Violence, and dealing with a despite- 
ful Hand, because of the old and new Hatred ; by impoverishing 
and every Way distressing of those you have got under you ; yet 
unless you can secure Jesus Christ, and all his Holy Angels, 
you shall never do your Business, nor your Hands accomplish 
your Enterprizes ; for he will be upon you ere you are aware ; 
and therefore, O that you would be wise, instructed and learn, 
is the Desire of her that finds no Mercy from you, 

Elizabeth Gaunt. 

Postscript. 

Such as it is, you have it from her, who hath done as she 
could, and is sorry she can do no better ; hopes you will pity 
and cover Weakness, Shortness, and any thing that is wanting; 
and begs that none may be weakned or humbled at the Lowness 
of my Spirit : for God's Design is to humble and abase us, that 
he alone may be exalted in this Day ; and I hope he will appear 
in the needful Time, and it may be reserve the best Wine till 
last, as he hath done for some before me ; none goeth to War- 
fare at his own Charge, and the Spirit bloweth, not only where, 
but when it listeth ; and it becomes me, who have so often 
grieved, quenched, and resisted it, to wait for and upon the 
Motions of the Spirit, and not to murmur ; but I may mourn, 
because through Want of it, I honour not my God, nor his 
blessed Cause, which I have so longed loved and delighted to 
love ; and repent of nothing about it, but that I served him and 
it no better. 




171 

A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF MR. ROSE- 
WELL'S TRIAL & ACQUITTAL. 



BOUT the same Time, Mr. Rosewell, a very worthy 
Divine, was tried for treasonable Words in his Pulpit 
upon the Accusation of very vile and lewd Informers; 
and a Surry Jury found him guilty of High Treason, 
upon the most villanous and improbable Evidence that had 
been ever given, notwithstanding Sir John Talbot (no Couii- 
tenancer of Dissenters) had appeared with great Generosity and 
Honour, and testified, That the most material Witness was as 
scandalous and infamous a Wretch as lived. 

It was at that Time given out by those who thirsted for 
Blood, that Mr. Rosewell and Mr. Hays should die together; and 
it was upon good Ground believed, that the happy Deliverance of 
Mr. Hays did much contribute to the Preservation of Mr. Rose- 
well; tho', it is very probable, that he had not escaped, had not 
Sir John Talbofs worthy and most honourable Detestation of 
that accursed Villany, prompted him to repair from the Court 
of King's Bench, to King Charles II. and to make a faithful 
Representation of the Case to him ; whereby, when inltuman 
bloody Jeffreys came a little after in a Transport of Joy, to make 
his Report of the eminent Service he and the Surry Jury had 
done in finding Mr. Rosewell guilty; the King (to his Disap- 
pointment) appeared under some Reluctancy, and declared 
that Mr. Rosewell should not die. And so he was most happily 
delivered. 



THE EARL OF ARGYLL. 

E must now take a Step over into Scotland, that 
poor Country, which has been harassed and tired for 
these many Years, to render them perfect Slaves, 
that they might help to enslave E7igland, to prevent 
which, and secure the Protestant Religion, which 'twas grown 
impossible to do, but by Arms ; this good Lord embarkt from 
Holland about the same Time with the Duke, and arrived in 




i72 %\)t Mltgttm ^raiusactiong* 

Scotland with what Forces he could make ; to which were 
added some others who joined him ; which after several Marches 
and Countermarches, were at length led into a Boggy Sort of a 
Place, on Pretence, or with Intention to bring him off from the 
other Army then upon the Heels of 'em, where they all lost one 
another, dispersed and shifted for themselves : the Earl being 
taken by a Country-man, and brought to Edinburgh, where he 
suffered for his former unpardonable Crime — requiring Care 
should be.taken of the Protestant Religion, and explaining his 
taking the Test comformable thereto ; for the Legality of which 
he had the Hands of most of the eminent Lawyers about the 
City. He suffer'd at Edinburgh the 30th June, 1685. His 
Speech has a great deal of Piety and Religion, nor will it be any 
Disgrace to e say, 'twas more like a Sermon.- — 'Tis as follows. 

The Earl of Argyle's last Speech, June 30. 1685. 

Job tells us, Man that is born of a Woman, is of few Days, 
and fill of Trouble ; and I am a clear Instance of it. I shall 
not now say any thing of my Sentence, or Escape about three 
Years and a half ago ; nor of my Return, lest I may thereby 
give Offence, or be tedious : Only being to end my Days in your 
Presence, I shall, as some of my last Words, assert the Truth of 
the Matter of Fact, and the Sincerity of my Intentions, and 
Professions that are Published. 

That which I intend mainly now to say, is, To express my 
humble, and (I thank God) chearful Submission to his Divine 
Will ; and my Willingness to forgive all Men, even my Enemies; 
and I am heartily well satisfied there is no more Blood spilt, 
and I shall wish the Stream thereof may stop at me : And that 
(if it please God) to say, as to Zerubbabel, Zech. 4. 6, Not by 
Might, nor by Power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts. 

I know Afflictions spring not out of the Dust : God did 
wonderfully deliver and provide for me, and has now by his 
special Providence brought me to this Place ; and I hope none 
will either insult or stumble at it, seeing they ought not ; for 
God Almighty does all Things well, for good and holy Ends, 
tho' we do not always understand it. Love and Hatred is not 
known by what is before us, Eccles. 9. 1. and 8. 11, 12, 13. 



%ty (Carl of SLv$vlt. 173 

Afflictions are not only foretold, but promised to Christians ; 
and are not only tolerable, but desirable. 

We ought to have a deep Reverence and Fear of God's Dis- 
pleasure ; but withal, a firm Hope and Dependance on him for 
a blessed Issue, in Compliance with his Will ; for God chastens 
his own, to refine them, and not to ruin them, whatever the 
World may think, Heb. 12. 3. to 12. Prov. 3. 11, 12. 2 Tun. 1. 8. 
2 Tim. 2. n, 12. Matth. 10. 18. to 40. Matth. 16. 24. to 28. 

We are to imitate our Saviour in his Sufferings, as 1 Pet. 2. 
23. and 1 Pet. 4. 16. to 20. 

We are neither to despise our Afflictions, nor to faint under 
them ; both are Extreams. 

We are not to suffer our Spirits to be exasperated against the 
Instruments of our Trouble ; for the same Affliction may be an 
Effect of their Passion, and yet sent to God to punish us for 
Sin : Tho' 'tis* a Comfort when we may say to them with David 
Psal. 59. 3, Not for my Transgression, nor for my Sin, O 
Lord. 

Nor are we, by fraudulent, pusillanimous Compliances in wicked 
Courses, to bring Sin upon our selves : Faint Hearts are 
ordinary false Hearts ; Chusing Sin rather than Sufferings, and 
a short Life with eternal Death, before temporal Death and a 
Crown of Glory : Such seeking to save a little, loses all ; and 
God readily hardens them to proceed to their own Destruction. 
How many, like Hazael, 2 Kings 8. 13, run to Excesses they 
never thought they were capable of ! Let Rulers and others 
read seriously, and weigh Prov. 1. 10. to 20. 2. Chr. 28. 6. to 17. 
Prov. 24. 11, 12. and Prov. 28. 10. and avoid what is bad, and 
follow what is good. 

For me, I hope by God's Strength to join with Job, Chap. 13. 
15. and the Psalmist, Psal. 22. 4. and 16. 7. and shall pray, as 
Psal. 74. 79. to 24. and Psal. 122. 6. to 9. and Luke 1. 74. 75, 
and shall hope, as Psal. 94. 14, 15. 

I do freely forgive all that directly or indirectly have been the 
Cause of my being brought to this Place, first or last ; and I 
pray God forgive them. I pray God send Truth and Peace in 
these three Kingdoms ; and continue and increase the Glorious 
Light of the Gospel, and restrain the Spirit of Prophanity, 
Atheism, Superstition, Popery, and Persecution, and restore all 



i74 ^? Mlesftern ^can^attfon^ 

that have back-slidden from the Purity of their Life or Principles; 
and bless his whole People with all Blessings, spiritual and 
temporal, and put an End to their present Trials. 

And I intreat all People to forgive me wherein I have offended, 
and concur with me to pray, That the great, good, and nierciful 
God would sanctifie my present Lot. and for Jesus Christ his 
Sake pardon all my Sins, and receive me to his Eternal Glory. 

It is suggested to me, That I have said nothing of the Royal 
Family ; and it remembers me, that before the Justices at my 
Trial about the Test, I said, That at my Death I would pray, 
That there should never want one of the Royal Family to be a 
Defender of the True, Ancient, Apostolick, Catholick, Protestant 
Faith; which I do now : And that GOD would enlighten and 
forgive all of them that are either luke-warm, or have shrunk 
from the Profession of it. And in all Events, I pray God may 
provide for the Security of his Church, that Antichrist, nor the 
Gates of Hell may never prevail against it. 




COLONEL RUMBOLD. 

T the same Place died Colonel Richard Rumbold, 
June 26. 1685. most of what occurred considerable 
in his Defence and Speech, you have already in the 
Business of the Assassination. Two or three 
Passages more there are worth Remarks in the same, as Argu- 
ments of his Sense and Courage. [For this Cause, he says, 
were every Hair of his Head and Beard a Life, he'd joyfully 
sacrifice 'em all.] [That he was never Antimonarchical in his 
Principles, but for a King and Free Parliament ; the King 
having Power enough to make him great, and the People to 
make 'em happy.] [That he died in the Defence of the just 
Laws and Liberties of the Nations.] [That none was markt by 
God above another ; for no Man came into the World with a 
Saddle on their Backs, nor others booted and spurr'd to ride 
upon ? t.] And being askt if he thought not his Sentence dread- 
ful ? Answered, [He wisht he had a Limb for every Town in 
Christendom.] 



Colonel IBUmiboUu 175 

The last Speech of Col. Richard Rumbold, at the 
Market-Cross at Edinburgh, with several Things 
that passed at his Trial, 26 June, 1685. 

At the same Place died Colonel Richard Rumbold, about 
Eleven of the Clock he was brought from the Castle of Edin- 
burgh, to the Justices Court, in a great Chair, on Men's 
Shoulders ; where at first he was asked some Questions, most of 
which he answered with Silence ; at last said, He humbly con- 
ceived, it was not necessary for him to add to his own Accu- 
sation, since he was not ignorant they had enough already to do 
his Business ; and therefore he did not design to fret his 
Conscience at that Time with Answering Questions. After 
which, his Libel being read, the Court proceeded in usual 
Manner ; first * asking him, If he had any thing to say for him- 
self before the Jury closed ? His Answ r er was He owned it all, 
saving that Part, of having designed the King's Death ; and 
desired all present, to believe the Words of a dying Man ; he 
never directly nor indirectly intended such a Villany ; that he 
abhorred the very Thoughts of it ; and that he blessed God he 
had that Reputation in the World, that he knew none that had 
the Impudence to ask him the Question ; and he detested the 
Thoughts of such an Action ; and he hoped all good People 
would believe him, which was the only Way he had to clear 
himself ; and he was sure that this Truth should be one Day 
made manifest to all Men. He was again asked, If he had any 
Exception against the Jury? He answered, No; but wished 
them to do as God and their Consciences directed them. Then 
they withdrew, and returned their Verdict in half an Hour, 
and brought him in Guilty. The Sentence followed ; For him 
to be taken from that Place to the next Room, and from thence 
to be drawn on a Hurdle, betwixt Two and Four of the Clocks 
to the Cross of Edinburgh, the Place of Execution, and there to 
be Hangd, Drawn, and Quartered. He received his Sentence 
with an undaunted Courage and Chearfulness. Afterwards he 
was delivered into the Town-Magistrate's Hands ; they brought 
to him two of their Divines, and offered him their Assistance 
upon the Scaffold ; which he altogether refused, telling them, 



176 %\)t Miesftent ^rangf actions 

That if they had any good Wishes for him, he desired they 
would spend them in their own Closets, and leave him now to 
seek God in his own Way. He had several Offers of the same 
kind by others, which he put off in like Manner. He was most 
serious and fervent in Prayers the few hours he lived, (as the 
Centinels observed, who were present all the while.) The Hour 
being come, he was brought to the Place of Execution, where he 
saluted the People on all Sides of the Scaffold, and after having 
refreshed himself with a Cordial out of his Pocket, he was sup- 
ported by two Men, while he spoke to the People in these Words : 

Gentlemen and Brethren, It is for all Men that come into the 
World once to die, and after Death to Judgment ; and since 
Death is a Debt that all of us must pay, it is but a Matter of 
small Moment what Way it be done ; and seeing the Lord is 
pleased in this Manner to take me to himself, I confess, some- 
thing hard to Flesh and Blood, yet blessed be his Name, who 
hath made me not only willing, but thankful for his honouring 
me to lay down the Life he gave, for his Name ; in which, were 
every Hair in this Head and Beard of mine a Life, I should 
joyfully sacrifice them for it, as I do this : and Providence having 
brought me hither, I think it most necessary to clear my self of 
some Aspersions laid on my Name ; and first, That I should 
have had so horrid an Intention of destroying the King and his 
Brother. 

[Here he repeated what he had said before to the Justices on 
this Subject.] 

It was also laid to my Charge, That I was Antimonarchical. 

It was ever my Thoughts, That Kingly Government was the 
best of all, justly executed : I mean, such as by our Ancient 
Laws ; that is, a King, and a Legal, Free- Chosen Parliament. 
The King having, as I conceive, Power enough to make him 
Great ; the People also as much Property as to make them 
Happy ; they being, as it were, contracted to one another. And 
who will deny me, that this was not the Just Constituted Govern- 
ment of our nation ? How absurd it is then for Men of Sense to 
maintain, That tho J the one Party of this Contract breaketh all 
Conditions, the other should be obliged to perform their Part ? 
No ; this Error is contrary to the Law of God, the Law of 
Nations, and the Law of Reason. But as Pride hath been the 



Colonel Eumboltu 177 

Bait the Devil hath catched most by ever since the Creation, 
so it continues to this Day with us. Pride caused our first 
Parents to fall from the blessed Estate wherein they were 
created ; they aiming to be higher and wiser than God allowed, 
which brought an everlasting Curse on them and their Posterity. 
It was Pride caused God to drown the Old World. And it was 
Nimrod's Pride in building Babel, that caused that heavy Curse 
of Division of Tongues to be spread among us, as it is at this 
Day, One of the greatest Afflictions the Church of God groaneth 
under, that there should be so many Divisions during their 
Pilgrimage here ; but this is their Comfort that the Day draweth 
near, where, as there is but One Shepherd, there shall be but 
One Sheepfold. It was therefore in the Defence of this Party, 
in their Just Rights and Liberties, against Popery and Slavery — 
[At which Words they beat the Drums :] To which he said ; 
They need not trouble themselves, for he should say no more 
of his Mind on that Subject, since they were so disingenuous, as 
to interrupt a dying Man, only to assure the People, he adhered 
to-the true Protestant Religion, detesting the Erroneous Opinions 
of many that called themselves so ; and I die this Day in the 
Defence of the Ancient Laws and Liberties of these Nations: 
And though God, for Reasons best known to himself, hath not 
seen it fit to honour us, as to make us the Instruments for the 
Deliverance of his People ; yet as I have lived, so I die in the 
Faith, that he will speedily arise for the Deliverance of his Church 
and People. And I desire of all you to prepare for this with 
Speed. I may say, This is a deluded Generation, vailed with 
Ignorance, that tho' Popery and Slavery be riding in upon them, 
do not perceive it ; though I am sure there was no Man born 
marked of God above another ; for none comes into the World 
with a Saddle on his Back, neither any booted and spurr'd to 
ride him ; not but that I am well satisfied, that God hath wisely 
ordered different Stations for Men in the World, as I have al- 
ready said : Kings having as much Power as to make them 
great, and the People as much Property as to make them happy. 
And to conclude, I shall only add my Wishes for the Salva- 
tion of all Men, who were created for that End. 

After ending these Words, he prayed most fervently near 
three Quarters of an Hour, freely forgiving all Men, even his 

N 



178 %l)t WLt&mn ^rangactfong* 

greatest Enemies, begging most earnestly for the Deliverance of 
Sion from all her Persecutors, particularly praying for London, 
Edinburgh, and Dublin, from which the Streams run that rule 
God's People in these three Nations. 

Being asked some Hours before his Execution, If he thought 
710 1 his sentence dreadful? He answered,/^ wished he Jmd a 
Limb for every Town in Christendom. 



A brief Account of the last speech of Mr. John King, at 
the Place of Execution at Edinburgh, on the \\th Day 
of August, 1679 

Men and Brethren, 

I do not doubt but that many that are Spectators here, have 
some other End, than to be edified by what they may see 
and hear in the last Words of One going to Eternity ; but 
if any one of you have Ears to hear, (which I nothing doubt 
but some of this great Gathering have) I desire your Ears and 
Attention, if the Lord shall help and permit me to speak to a few 
Things. 

I Bless the Lord, since infinite Wisdom and holy Providence 
has so carved out my Lot to die after the Manner that I do, 
not unwillingly, neither by Force : It's true I could not do this 
of my self, Nature always having an Inclination to put the Evil 
Day far off, but through Grace I have been helped, and by 
this Grace yet hope I shall : Tis true, thro' Policy I might have 
shunned such a hard Sentence, if I had done some Things ; but 
though I could, I durst not, God knows, redeem my Life with 
the loss of my Integrity and Honesty. I bless the Lord, that 
since I have been apprehended and made a Prisoner, God hath 
very wonderfully upholden me, and made out that comfortable 
Word, Fear not, be not dismayed, I am with thee, I will 
strengthen thee, I will uphold thee by the Right Hand of my 
Righteousness, Isaiah 42. 10. I thank the Lord he never yet 
gave me Leave so much as to have a Thought, much less to seek 



9$i** 3|ofm Btnff. 179 

after any Shift that might be in the least sinful ; I did always, 
and yet do judge it better to suffer Affliction with the People of 
God, than to enjoy the Pleasures of Sin for a Season, therefore 
I am come hither to lay down my Life. I bless the Lord I die 
not as a Fool dieth, though I acknowledge I have nothing to 
boast of in my self : Yea, I acknowledge I am a Sinner, and one 
of the chiefest that hath gone under the Name of a Professor of 
Religion ; yea, among the unworthiest of those that have 
Preached the Gospel ; my Sins and Corruptions have been 
many, and have defiled me in all Things, and even in fol- 
lowing and doing my Duty, I have not wanted my own sin- 
ful Infirmities and Weaknesses, for that I might truly say I 
have no Righteousness of my own, all is evil, and like filthy 
Rags ; but blessed be God that there is a Saviour and an Ad- 
vocate, Jesus Christ the Righteous, and I do believe that Jesus 
Christ is come into the World to save Sinners, of whom I -am 
the chief and that through Faith and his Righteousness I have 
obtained Mercy ; and that through him, and him alone, I desire 
and hope to have a happy and glorious Victory over Sin, Satan, 
Hell, and Death ; and that I shall attain unto the Resurrection 
of the Just, and be made Partaker of Eternal Life. I know in 
whom I have believed, and that he is able to keep that which 
I have committed unto him against that Day. I have ac- 
cording to my poor Capacity, Preached Salvation in his Name. 
and as I have Preached, so do I believe, and with all my Soul 
have commended it, and still do commend to all of you the 
Riches of his Grace, and Faith in his Name, as the alone and 
only Way whereby to come to be saved. 

It may be many may think (but I bless the Lord, without any 
solid Ground) that I surfer as an Evil-doer, and as a busie Body 
in other Mens Matters ; but I reckon not much upon that, hav- 
ing the Testimony of my own Conscience for me. It was the 
Lot of our Blessed Saviour himself, and also the Lot of many 
of his eminent, precious Servants and People, to suffer by the 
World as Evil-doers : Yea, I think I have so good Ground not 
to be scared at such a Lot, that I count it my Non-such-Honour ; 
and Oh what am I, that I should be honoured so, when so many 
Worthies have panted after the like, and have not come at it : 
My Soul rejoyceth in being brought into Conformity with my 

N 2 



180 ^Ije aaie0tern r 3Tran0action& 

Blessed Lord, and Head, and so Blessed a Company in this 
Way and Lot ; and I desire to pray that I may be to none of 
you this Day upon this Account a Stone of stumbling, and a 
Rock of Offence ; and blessed is he that shall not be offended 
in Christ and his poor Followers and Members, because of their 
being condemned as Evil-doers by the World. 

As for those Things for which Sentence of Death hath past 
against me, I bless the Lord my Conscience doth not condemn 
me 3 ; I have not been rebellious, nor do I judge it Rebellion for 
me to have endeavoured in my Capacity, what possibly I could 
for the born-down and ruined Interest of my Lord and Master, 
and for the Relief of my poor Brethren afflicted and persecuted, 
not only in their Liberties, Priviledges, and Persons, but also 
in their Lives ; therefore it was that I joined with that poor 
Handful ; the Lord knows, who is the Searcher of Hearts, that 
neither my Design nor Practice was against his Majesty's Person 
and just Government, but I always studied to be loyal to lawful 
Authority in the Lord, and I thank God my Heart doth not 
condemn me of any Disloyalty ; I have been loyal, and I do 
recommend it to all to be obedient to higher Powers in the Lord. 

I have been looked upon by some, and represented by others, 
to be of a divisive and factious Humour, and one that stirred up 
Division in the Church, but I am hopeful that they will all now 
give me their Charity, being within a little to stand before my 
Judge, and I pray the Lord forgive them that did so misrepre- 
sent me ; but I thank the Lord whatever Man have said against 
me concerning this, that on the contrary I have often dissuaded 
from such Ways and Practices, as contrary to the Word of God, 
and of our Covenanted and Reformed Religion ; and as I ever 
abhorred Division and Faction in the Church, as that which 
tends to its utter Ruin, if the Lord prevent it not. So I would 
in the Bowels of my Lord and Master, if such an one as I am may 
presume to persuade, and exhort both Ministers and Professors ; 
if there be any Consolation in Christ, if any Comfort of Love, if 
any Fellowship of the Spirit, if any Bowels and Mercies, that you 
be like minded, having the same Love, being of one Accord, of 
one Mind ; in Lowliness of Mind, let each esteem others better 
than themselves, /7b7. i. 12. Harmoniousness and Honesty in 
the Things of God, can never enough be sought after, and 



9£t\ 3|oIjn Iking. i&i 

Things that tend to the Prejudice and Hurt of Christ's Interest, 
can never enough be fled from and avoided. 

And as I am come hither willingly to lay down my Taber- 
nacle, so also I die in the Belief and Faith of the holy Scriptures, 
and in the Faith of the Apostles, and Primitive Christians, and 
Protestant Reformed Churches, and particularly the Church of 
Scotland, whereof I am a poor Member. 

I shall but say a few Words — 

First, All you that are profane, I would seriously exhort you, 
that you return to the Lord by serious Repentance ; if you do, 
Iniquity shall not be your Ruin, if you do not, know that the 
Day of the Lord's Vengeance is near and hastneth on ! Oh 
know for your Comfort, there is a Door of Mercy yet open, if 
you be not Despisers of the Day of Salvation. And you that 
have been, and yet are, Reproachers and Persecutors of Godli- 
ness, and of such as live Godly ; take heed, Oh take heed, sad 
will be your Day, when God arises to scatter his Enemies, if 
you repent not for your ungodly Deeds. 

Secondly, All those who are taken up with their own private In- 
terests, and if that go well, they care the less for the Interest of 
Christ, take heed and be zealous, and repent, lest the Lord pass 
the Sentence, I will spew you out of my Mouth. 

Thirdly, For the truly Godly, and such as are lamenting after 
the Lord, and are mourning for all the Abominations of this 
City, and are taking Pleasure in the very Rubbish and Stones 
of Zion, be of good Courage, and cast not away your Confi- 
dence. I dare not say anything to future Things, but surely 
the Lord has a handful that are precious to Him, to whom he 
will be gracious ; to these is a dark Night at present, how long 
it will last, the Lord knows ! Oh let not the sad Disasters, 
that his poor People meet with, though very astonishing, terrifie 
you ; beware of Snares that abound, cleave fast to your Re- 
formed Religion, do not shift the Cross of Christ, if you be 
called to it, it is better to suffer than sin, account the Reproaches 
of Christ greater Riches than all the Treasures of the World. 

In the last place, let not my Death be grievous to any of you, 
I hope it will be more profitable both for you and me, and for 
the Church and Interest of God, than my Life could have been. 
I bless the Lord, I can freely and frankly forgive all Men, even 



i8z ^Ije mmtvn ^tangactiong* 

as I desire to be forgiven of God, pray for them that persecute 
you, bless them that curse you. As to the Cause of Christ, I 
bless the Lord I never had Cause, to this Day, to repent for 
anything I have suffered, or can now suffer for his Name. I 
thank the Lord who has shewed Mercy to such a vile a sinner, as 
I am, and that ever he should advance me to so high a Dignity, 
as to be made a Minister of his blessed and everlasting Gospel ; 
and that ever I should have a Seal set to my Ministry, upon 
the Hearts of some in several Places and Corners of this Land : 
The Lord visit Scotland with more and more faithful Pastors, 
and send a reviving Day unto the People of God ; in the mean 
Time be patient, be stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in 
the Work of the Lord ; and live in Love and Peace one with 
another, and the Lord be with his poor afflicted, groaning 
People that yet remain. 

Now I bid farewel to all my Friends and dear Relations : 
Fare well my poor Wife and Children, whom I leave in the 
good Hands of him who is better than seven Husbands, and 
who will be a Father to the Fatherless. Fare well all Creature 
Comforts ; welcome Everlasting Life, Everlasting Glory, wel- 
come Everlasting Love, Everlasting Praise : Bless the Lord, 
O my Soul, and all that is within me. 
, August i\th, 1679, Tolbooth, Sic subscribe 

circa horam septimam. John KING. 



A brief Account of the last Speech of Mr. John Kidd, 
at the Place of Execution at Edinburgh, on the \\th 
Day of August, 1679. 

Right worthy and well beloved Spectators and 

Auditors. 

Considering what bodily Distempers I have been exercised 
with, since I came out of the Torture, viz, scarce two Hours out 
of my naked Bed in one Day, it cannot be expected, that I should 
be in a Case to say anything to purpose at this Juncture, es- 



fl£r* 91o|)it iu'DO. 183 

p2cially seeing I am not as yet free of it ; however I cannot but 
Reverance the good Hand of God upon me, and desire with all 
my Soul to bless him for this my present Lot. 

It may be there are a great many here that judge my Lot 
very sad and deplorable. I must confess Death it self is very 
terrible to Flesh and Blood, but as it is an Outlet to Sin, and 
an Inlet to Righteousness, it is the Christian's great and inex- 
pressible Priviledge ; and give me Leave to say this, that there 
is something in a Christians Condition that can never put him 
without the Reach of Insufferableness, even Shame, Death, and 
the Cross being included, 

And then if there be Peace betwixt God and the Soul, nothing 
can damp Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, this 
is a most supporting Ingredient in the bitterest Cup, and under 
the sharpest and fieriest Trial he can be exposed unto, this is 
my Mercy, that I have something to lay Claim unto, viz. The 
Intimations of Pardon and Peace betwixt God and my Soul. 

And as concerning that for which I am condemned, I mag- 
nifie his Grace, that I never had the least Challenge for it, but 
on the contrary, I judge it my Honour, that ever I was counted 
worthy to come upon the Stage upon such a Consideration; another 
Thing that renders the most despicable Lot of the Christian, 
and mine sufferable, is a felt and sensible Presence from the 
Lord, strengthening the Soul when most put to it, and if I could 
have this for my Allowance this Day, I could be bold to say, 
O Death, where is thy Sting? And could not but cry out Welcome 
to it, and all that follows upon it : I grant the Lord from an 
Act of Soveraignty may come, and go as he pleases, but yet he 
will never forsake his People, and this is a Cordial to me in 
the Case I am now exposed unto. 

Thirdly, The exercising and putting forth his Glorious Power, 
is able to transport the Soul of the Believer, and mine, above 
the Reach of all sublunary Difficulties, and therefore seeing I 
have Hope to be kept up by this Power, I would not have you to 
look upon my Lot, or any other that is or may be in my Case, 
in the least deplorable, seeing we have Ground to believe, 
that in more or less he will perfect his Power and Strength in 
weakness. 

Fourthly, That I may come a little nearer to the Purpose in 



1 84 'GCfie WLt&tmx ^rangactton^ 

Hand, I declare before you all, in the Sight of God, Angels, 
and Men, and in the Sight of that Son, and all that he has 
created, that I am a most miserable Sinner, in Regard of my 
original and actual Transgressions. I must confess, they are 
more in Number than the Hairs of my Head. They are gone 
up above my Head, and are past numbring; I cannot but 'say 
as Jacob said, I am less than the least of all God's Mercies, yet 
I must declare to the exalting of his Free Grace, That to me, 
who am the least of all Saints, in this Grace made known, and 
that by a strong Hand, and I dare not but say, he has loved 
me, and washed me in his own Blood from all Iniquities, and 
well is it for me this Day, That ever I heard or read that faith- 
ful Saying, That Jesus Christ came into the World to save 
Sinners, of whom I am chief. 

Fifthly, I must also declare in his Sight, I am the most un- 
worthiest that ever opened his Mouth to Preach the unsearch- 
able Riches of Christ in the Gospel. Yea, the Sense of this made 
me altogether unwilling to fall about so great a Work, until, by 
the Importunity of some, whose Names are precious and savoury 
to me and many others, I was prevailed with to fall about it r 
and yet I am hopeful, not altogether without some Fruit ; and if 
I durst say it without Vanity, I never found so much of the Pre- 
sence of God upon my Spirit, as I have found in Exercises of 
that Nature, tho' I must still confess attended with inexpressible 
Weakness, and this is the main Thing for which I must lay 
down my Tabernacle this Day, viz. That I did Preach Christ 
and the Gospel in several Places of this Nation ; for which I 
bless him (as I can) That ever such a poor obscure Person as I 
am, have been thus Priviledged by him, for making Mention of 
his Grace as I was able. 

In the next Place, tho' to many I die desired, yet I know, to 
not a few my Death is not desired, and it is the rejoycing of my 
Heart, that I die in the Faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has 
loved me, and given himself for me, and in the faith of the 
Prophets and Apostles, and in this Faith of theirs there is not 
a Name under Heaven by which Men can be saved, but the 
Name of Jesus, and in the Faith of the Doctrine and Worship 
of the Kirk of Scotland, as it is now established according to> 
the Word of God, Confession of Faith, Catechisms larger and 



9£r. 3o|in ItfDH, 185 

shorter, and likewise I join my Testimony against Popery, Perjury ^ 
Profanity, Heresie, and everything contrary to sound Doctrine. 

In the Close, as a dying Person, and as one who has obtained 
Mercy of the Lord to be faithful, I would humbly leave it upon 
Godly Ministers to be faithful for their Lord and Master, and 
not to hold their Peace in such a day, when so many ways are 
taken for injuring of him, his Name* Way, Sanctuary, Ordinances,. 
Crown, and Kingdom, I hope there will be found a party in this- 
Land, that will continue for him and his Matters, in all Hazards,, 
and as Faithfulness is called for in Ministers, so Professors 
would concern themselves that they countenance not, nor abet 
any thing inconsistent with former Principles and Practices. Let 
the Land consider, how neutral and indifferent we are grown in the 
Matters of God, even like Efihraim long ago, a Cake not turned.. 

As concerning that which is the Ground of my Death, viz* 
Preaching here and there in some Corners ; I bless my God, I 
have not the least Challenge for it ; and tho' those that con- 
demned me are pleased to call such Preachings Rendezvouses 
of Rebellion, yet I must say this of them, they were so far from 
being reputed such in my Eyes, that if ever Christ had a People^, 
or Party, wherein his Soul took Pleasure, I am bold to say, these 
Meetings were a great Part of them ; the Shining and Glory of 
God was eminently seen amongst these Meetings, the con- 
vincing Power and Authority of our Lord went out with his 
Servants in those blasphemously nick-nam'd Conventicles : 
This, I say, without Reflection upon any. I have a Word to say 
farther, that God is calling Persons to Repentance, and to do 
their first Work : O that Scotland were a mourning Land,, 
and that Reformation were our Practice, according as we are 
sworn in the Covenant. 

Again, that Christians of Grace and Experience would study 
more straightness and Stability in this Day, when so many are 
turning to the Right Hand, and many to the Left ; he that 
endureth to the End shall be saved ; he hath appointed the 
Kingdom for such as continue with him in his Temptations. 

Next, If ever you expect to have the Form of the House 
shewed you in all the Laws thereof, Goings-out-thereof, and 
Comings-in-thereof, then think it no Shame to take Shame 
to you for all that has been done : Sitting down on this Side 



186 %l)t Wimtvn ^rangfam'ottgf* 

Jordan, is like to be our Bane. Oh ! when shall we get up and 
run after him, till he brings us into the promised Land, let us up 
and tlfter him with all our Heart, and never rest till he return. 

I recommend my Wife and Young One to the Care and Faith- 
fulness of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob j the God that 
fed me to this Day, and who is the God of my Salvation, their 
God and my God, their Father and my Father. I am also hope- 
ful, that Christian Friends and Relations will not be unmindful 
of them when I am gone. 

Lastly, I do further bear my Testimony to the Cross of Christ, 
and bless him that ever he counted me worthy to appear for him 
in such a Lot as this : Glory to him that ever I heard tell of 
him, and that ever he fell upon such a Method of dealing with 
me as this ; and therefore let none that loves Christ and his 
Righteous Cause, be offended in me. 

And as I have lived in the Faith of this, that the Three King- 
doms are Married Lands, so I die in the Faith of it, that 
there will be a Resurrection of his Name, Word, Cause, and of all 
his Interest therein, tho' I dare not determine the Time when, 
nor the Manner how, but leave all these Things to the infinitely 
wise God, who has done, and will do all Things well. Oh that 
he would return to this Land again, to repair our Breaches, 
and take away our Back-sliding, and appear for his Work. Oh 
that he would pass by Scotland once again, and make our Time 
a Time of Love. Co?ne, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Himself hasten 
it in his own Time and Way. The Lord is my Light and Life, 
my Joy, my Song, and my Salvation ; the God of his Chosen 
be my Mercy this Day, and the inriching Comforts of the Holy 
Ghost keep up and carry me fair through, to the Glory of 
his Grace, the Edification of his People, and my own eternal 
Advantage. Amen. 

August i^tk, 1679, Tolbooth, Sic subscrib. 

* ante horam sefttiman. John Kidd. 

Thus, Reader, having given thee a faithful Account of the 
Behaviour and Dying-Speeches of the most Eminent Persons who 
suffered in SCOTLAND, 1 shall return again for London, where 
the Last Person of Quality that suffered, was the DUKE of 
MONMOUTH, whose Expedition and Sufferings, &*c. you have 
in the following Pages. 




187 



JAMES DUKE OF MONMOUTH. 

HE Last Person with whom we shall conclude this 
mournful Tragedy, and the Greatest in it is the late 
James Duke of Monmouth; One indeed, who, if he 
had been a little less, might have been at this Time 
One of the Greatest Men both in England and the World. By- 
reason of some Passages in his Life, not so defensible, 'twas 
thought, at first, better to draw a Veil before that unfortunate 
Prince, and say nothing at all of him. But what Allowances are 
made for Custom and Education, God only knows. I remember 
a shrewd Answer given to an Objection of this Nature, Where 
said One, should he learn any better? But however, where there 
has been any Time to think soberly of past Actions, or none of 
that Nature reiterated, Charity is oblig'd to judge favourably. 
And besides, the good West-Country- Men would be very angry 
if they should not find their Master that they loved so well, and 
suffered so much for, among the rest of these Noble Heroes. 
None can deny but he was a Great General, a Man of Courage 
and Conduct, and great Personal Valour, having signaliz'd him- 
self both at Mons and Maestricht, so as to gain an high and just 
Reputation. He was all along true and firm to the Protestant In- 
terest in and out of Parliament, tho' abhorring any base Way of 
promoting it, as well as his Friend my Lord Russel. This is in- 
tended as a Character rather, or very short Compendium, than any 
History of his Life. He was all along the Peoples Darling, whose 
Hearts were entirely his by his Courtesie and Affability, as other 
Persons lost 'em by their Sourness and haughty Pride. After 
Russet's Death he went into Flanders, whence had he prosecuted 
his Design, and gone, as 'tis said he intended, into the Emperor's 
Service, how many Lawrels might he have won, and how many 
more would now have been growing for him ? But his Fate was 
otherwise. — He came over into England, an exact Account of 
whose Enterprise another Place of this Book presents you as 
'twas compiled by One present in all that Action. After the 
Defeat of his Army at Sedgmoor, he fled with my Lord Grayy 
who was first taken, and he himself a little after brought up to 



188 ^Ije aaiejStem ^rangacttons?* 

London> and on his Attainder in Parliament, beheaded on 
Tower-Hill. 'Tis said, a certain Brave Old Officer, who then 
came over with him, and since with the Prince, offered with a 
small Party of Horse to have ventured through the Guards, and 
took him off the Scaffold. But they could not be got together ; 
his Time was come. Providence had designed other Things, 
that our Deliverance should be more just, and peaceable, and 
wonderful, and that the Glory thereof should be reserved for 
their Sacred Majesties, King William and Queen Mary. 

The Thing I shall in the next Place do, that I may leave out 
nothing material, relating to the Western Affair, is to insert the 
late Duke of Monmouth's Declaration, as it was taken from a 
Copy Printed in Holland 'in the Year 1685. 



The Declaration of James Duke of Monmouth, and the 
Noblemen, Gentlemen, and others, now in Arms for 
the Defence and Vindication of the Protestant Re- 
ligion, and the Laws, Rights, and Priviledges of 
England. 

As Government was originally instituted by God, and this or 
that Form of it chosen and submitted to by Men, for the Peace, 
Happiness, and Security of the Governed, and not for the Pri- 
vate Interest and Personal Greatness of those that Rule : So 
that Government hath always been esteemed the best, where the 
Supream Magistrates have been invested with all the Power and 
Prerogatives, that might capacitate them, not only to preserve 
the People from Violence and Oppression, but to promote their 
Prosperity ; and yet where nothing was to belong to them by the 
Rules of the Constitution, that might enable them to injure and 
oppress them, And it hath been the Glory of England above 
most other Nations, that the Prince had all intrusted with him 
that was necessary, either for the advancing the Welfare of the 
People, or for his own Protection in the Discharge of his Office ; 
and withal stood so limited and restrained by the Fundamental 
Terms of the Constitution, That without a Violation of his own 
Oath, as well as the Rules and Measures of the Government, he 



3jame£ 2Dufee of fl^onmoutfj. 189 

could do them no Hurt, or exercise any Act of Authority, but 
through the Administration of such Hands as stood obnoxious to 
be punished, in case they transgressed : So that according to the 
Primitive Frame of the Government, the Prerogatives of the 
Crown, and the Priviledges of the Subject, are so far from justling 
one another, that the Rights reserved unto the People, tended 
to render the King Honourable and Great, and the Prerogatives 
settled on the Prince, were in Order to the Subjects Protection and 
Safety. But all humane Things being Subject to Perversion, as 
well as Decay, it hath been the Fate of the English Government 
to be often changed and wrested from what it was in the first 
Settlement and Institution. And we are particularly compelled 
to say, that all the Boundaries of the Government have of late 
been broken, and nothing left unattempted for turning our limi- 
ted Monarchy into an absolute Tyranny. For such hath been 
the Transaction of Affairs within this Nation for several Years 
last past, that though the Protestant Religion and Liberties of the 
People were fenced and hedged about by as many Laws as the 
Wisdom of Man could devise for their Preservation against Popery 
and Arbitrary Power, our Religion hath been all along counter- 
mined by Popish Counsels, and our Priviledges ravished from us 
by Fraud and Violence. And more especially, the whole Course 
and Series of the Life of the D. of York, hath been but one con- 
tinued Conspiracy against the Reformed Religion and the Rights 
of the Nation. For who ever considers his contriving the Burn- 
ing of London, his instigating a Confederacy with France, and a 
War with Holland, his fomenting the Popish Plot, and encourag- 
ing the Murther of Sir Ed. Godfrey to stifle it ; his charging 
Treason against Protestants, and suborning Witnesses to swear 
the Patriots of their Religion and Liberties out of their Lives, 
his hiring execrable Villains to assassinate the late Earl of Essex, 
and causing those others to be clandestinely cut off, in Hopes to 
conceal it ; his advising and procuring the Prorogation and Dis- 
solution of Parliaments, in Order to prevent their looking into 
his Crimes, and that he might escape the Justice of the Nation ; 
such can imagine nothing so black and horrid in itself, or so 
ruinous and destructive to Religion and the Kingdom which we 
may not expect from him. 

The very Tyrannies, which he hath exercised since he snatched 



the Crown from his Brother's Head, do leave none under a Pos- 
sibility of flattering themselves with Hopes of Safety, either in 
their Consciences, Persons, or Estates : For in Defiance of all 
the Laws and Statutes of the Realm, made for the Security of 
the Reformed Protestant Religion, he not only began his Reign 
with a bare-faced avowing himself of the Romish Religion ; but 
hath called in Multitudes of Priests and Jesuits, for whom the 
Law makes it Treason to come into this Kingdom ; and hath im- 
powered them to exercise their idolatries. And by his being 
daily present at the Worship of the Mass, hath publickly assisted 
at the greatest Fopperies of their Superstition. Neither hath he 
been more tender in trampling upon the Laws which concern our 
Properties, seeing in two Proclamations, whereof the one requires 
the collecting of the Customs, and the other the continuing that 
Part of the Excise which was to expire with the late King's 
Death ; he has violently, and against all the Law of the Land, 
broken in upon our Estates. Neither is it any Extenuation of 
his Tyranny, that he is countenanced in it by an extrajudicial 
Opinion of seven or eight suborned and forsworn Judges ; but 
rather declaring the Greatness and Extent of the Conspiracy 
against our Rights, and that there is no Means left for our Relief 
but by Force of Arms ; for advancing those to the Bench that 
were the Scandal of the Bar, and constituting those very Men 
to declare the Laws, who were accused and branded in Parlia- 
ment for perverting them, we are precluded all Hopes of Justice 
in Westminster- Hall j and through packing together by false 
Returns, new illegal Charters, and other corrupt Means ; he doth 
at once deprive us of all Expectations of Succour, where our 
Ancestors were wont to find it ; and Hopes to render that which 
ought to be the Peoples Fence against Tyranny, and the Con- 
servator of their Liberties, the Means of subverting all our Laws, 
and of establishing of his Arbitrariness, and confirming our 
Thraldom. So that unless we could be contented to see the 
Reformed Protestant Religion, and such as profess it, extirpated ; 
Popish Superstition and Idolatry established, the Laws of the 
Land trampled under Foot ; the Liberties and Rights of the 
English People subverted ; and all that is Sacred and Civil, or 
of Regard (amongst Men of Vertue and Piety) violated ; and un- 
less we could be willing to be Slaves as well as Papists, and forget 



3!ameg 2Dufee of S^onmoutf)* 191 

the Example of our Noble and Generous Ancestors, who con- 
veyed our Priviledges to us at the Expence of their Blood and 
Treasure ; and withal be unmindful of our Duty to God, our 
Country and Posterity ; deaf to the Cries and Groans of our op- 
pressed Friends, and be satisfied, not only to see them and our 
selves Imprisoned, Robbed, and Murthered, but the Protestant 
Interest-'throughout the whole World betrayed to France and 
Rome j we are bound as Men and Christians, and that in Dis- 
charge of our Duty to God and our Country, and for the Satis- 
faction of the Protestant Nations round about us, to betake our 
selves to Arms. Which we take Heaven and Earth to Witness, 
we should not have done, had not the Malice of our Enemies de- 
prived us of all other Means of Redress ; and were not the 
Miseries that we already feel, and those which do further 
threaten us, worse than the Calamities of War. And it is not 
for any Personal Injuries, or Private Discontents, nor in Pursu- 
ance of any corrupt Interest, that we take our Swords into our 
Hands, but for vindicating our Religion, Laws and Rights, and 
rescuing our Country from Ruin and Destruction, and for preserv- 
ing our selves, Wives and Children from Bondage and Idolatry. 
Wherefore, before God, Angels, and Men, we stand acquitted 
from, and do charge upon our Enemies, all the Slaughter and 
Devastations that unavoidably accompany an intestine War. 

Now therefore we do hereby Solemnly Declare and Proclaim 
War against J. D. of Y. as a Murtherer, and an Assassinator 
of innocent Men, a Traitor to the Nation, and Tyrant over the 
People. And we would have none that appear under his Ban- 
ner, to flatter themselves with Expectation of Forgiveness, it 
being our firm Resolution to prosecute him and his Adherents, 
without giving way to Treaties or Accommodations, until we have 
brought him and them to undergo what the Rules of the Consti- 
tution, and the Statutes of the Realm, as well as the Laws of 
Nature, Scripture, and Nations judge to be a Punishment due to 
the Enemies of God, Mankind, their Country, and all Things that 
are Honourable, Vertuous, and good. 

And though we cannot avoid being sensible, that too many 
have, from Cowardice, Covetousness, and Ambition, co-operated 
to the subverting our Religion, and enslaving their Country ; yet 
we would have none from a Despair of finding Mercy, persevere 



i92 W$z mmt^n <(l\:anHttion#. 

in their Crimes, nor continue the Ruin of the Kingdom : For we 
exclude none from the Benefit of Repentance, that will join with 
us in retrieving what they have been accessory to the Loss of ; nor 
do we design Revenge upon any, but the Obstinate, and such as 
shall be found at this Juncture yielding Aid and Assistance to the 
said J. D. of Y. 

And that we way both govern our selves in the Pursuit of this 
Glorious Cause, wherein we are engaged, and give Encourage- 
ment to all that shall assist us in so Righteous and Necessary an 
Undertaking ; we do in the Presence of the Lord, who knows 
the Secrets of all Hearts, and is the Avenger of Deceit and Fals- 
hood, proclaim and publish what we aim at ; and for the obtain- 
ing whereof, we have both determined to venture, and are ready 
to lay down our Lives. And tho' we are not come into the Field 
to introduce Anarchy and Confusion, or for laying aside any 
Part of the Old English Government ; yet our Purposes and 
Resolutions are, to reduce Things to that Temperament and Bal- 
lance, that future Rulers may remain able to do all the Good 
that can be either desired or expected from them, and it may not 
be in their Power to invade the Rights, and infringe the Liberties 
of the People. 

And whereas our Religion, the most Valuable Thing we lay 
Claim unto, hath been shaken by unjust Laws, undermined by 
Popish Counsels, and is now in Danger to be subverted ; We 
are therefore resolved, to spend our Blood for preserving it to 
our selves and Posterity ; nor will we lay down our Arms, till 
we see it established and secured beyond all Probability of being 
supplanted and overthrown, and until all the Penal Laws against 
Protestant Dissenters be repealed, and Legal Provision made 
against their being disturbed by Reason of their Consciences, 
and for their enjoying an equal Liberty with other Protestants. 

And that the Meekness and Purity of our Principles, and the 
Moderation and Righteousness of our End, may appear unto all 
Men : We do declare, That we will not make War upon, or de- 
stroy any for their Religion, how false and erroneous soever : So 
that the very Papists, provided they withdraw from the Tents of 
our Enemies, and be not found guilty of conspiring our Destruc- 
tion, or Abettors of them that seek it, have nothing to fear or 
apprehend from us, except what may hinder their altering our 



3[ame£ 2Dufce of 9£artmoutf)+ 193 

Laws, and indangering our Persons in the Profession of the Re- 
formed Doctrine, and Exercise of our Christian Worship. 

Our Resolution in the next Place is, to maintain all the just 
Rights and Priviledges of Parliament, and to have Parliaments 
annually chosen and held, and hot prorogued, dissolved, or dis- 
continued within the Year, before Petitions be first answered, 
and Grievances redressed. 

And seeing many of the Miseries, under which the Nation doth 
groan, arise from displacing such out of the Number of Judges, 
as would not, for promoting Popish and Arbitrary Designs, wrest 
and misapply the Laws ; and from constituting corrupt and 
mercenary Men in their Rooms, on Purpose to stretch the Laws 
beyond the Reason and Intention of them, and to declare that 
for Law which is not : We can neither with Silence pass over 
the mentioning of them, nor should we have Peace in our selves, 
if we did not endeavour to prevent the like Mischief in Time to 
come. For by Reason of ill Men being advanced to the Bench, 
and holding their Places only durante bene-ftlacito, many Per- 
sons have been condemned in exorbitant Fines for no Crimes, 
or for very small ones : Many Statutes made for the Safety of 
the Subject, particularly the Habeas Corpus Act, have been 
wickedly eluded to the Oppression of the Innocent and Loyal 
Men. The Popish Lords that were impeached in Parliament, 
for a most hellish Conspiracy, have, to the subverting the Rights 
of the House of Commons, and trampling on the Rights of the 
House of Lords, been discharged a7id set free. The imposing a 
Mayor and Sheriff upon the City of London by Fraud and 
Violence, have been justified, and those who in Discharge of 
their Duty opposed it, illegally prosecuted, and arbitrarily 
punished. Londo7t, and other Cities and Corporations, have 
been robb'd of their Charters, upon unrighteous Judgments 
of pretended Forfeitures : Sir Thomas Armstrong executed 
without being allowed the Benefit of a Trial : Col. Algernon 
Sidney condemned to die, upon the Deposition of one scanda- 
lous Witness : And that Loyal and Excellent Person, the late 
William L. Russel, Murthered for alledged Crimes ; in Refer- 
ence to which, if all had been true, which was sworn against 
him, yet there was nothing which according to Law could have 
reached his Life. Upon the Considerations aforesaid, we further 

O 



194 *3P&* Wtt&ttvn 'QEtangaction^ 

declare, that we will have Care taken for the future for debarring 
ignorant, scandalous, and mercenary Men from the Administra- 
tion of Justice, and that the Judges shall hold their Places by 
the ancient Tenure of quamdiu se bene gesserint; and to leave 
it to the Wisdom of a Parliament to settle some Way and 
Method for the Approbation of such as shall be advanced to the 
Degree and Dignity of Judges. 

And for as much as the Invasion made on the Rights ot 
Cities/Burroughs, and Towns Corporate, by the Seisure of their 
Charters, whether by Surrender, or upon Pretence of Forfeiture, 
have been wholly Arbitrary and Illegal ; we likewise therefore 
declare, we will, to our utmost, endeavour to see them repos- 
sessed in what they formely had and could legally lay Claim to, 
and that we do esteem all Judgments given against them, and 
all Surrenders made by a corrupt and perjured Party amongst 
them, null and void in Law ; and do hold and declare their old 
Charters, notwithstanding the new ones lately granted, to be 
good and valid ; and accordingly we do invite and incourage all 
honest Burgesses and Freemen to reassume the Rights and 
Priviledges, which by Vertue of the said old Charters belonged 
to their several and respective Corporations, and to deliver 
themselves from those late Parasites and Instruments of Tyranny 
set up to oppress them. 

Moreover, for the restoring the Kingdom to its Primitive Con- 
dition of Freedom and Safety, we will have the Corporation and 
Militia Acts repealed, and all Out-lawries of Treason against 
any Person whatsoever, upon the late pretended Protestant Plot, 
reversed ; and also all other Out-lawries, Banishments, Warrants, 
Judgments, Imprisonments, and Injurious Proceedings against 
any other Persons, upon any of the Penal Statutes made against 
Protestant Dissenters, made null and void. And we will have 
new Laws enacted for placing the Election of Sheriffs in the Free- 
holders of the several Counties, for settling the Militia in the 
several Shires, and for preventing all Military standing Forces, 
except what shall be raised and kept up by Authority and Con- 
sent of Parliament. 

And whereas several Gentlemen, and others, who have been 
worthy and zealous Asserters of the Protestant Interest, and 
Laws of the Kingdom, are now in Custody in divers Places 



3fame0 3Dufee of ^onmoutlj* 195 

within the Realm, upon most unjust Accusations, Pretences, 
Proceedings, and Judgments ; we do hereby further declare their 
said Imprisonments to be Illegal, and that in Case any 
Violence shall be offered to them, or any of them, we will revenge 
it to the utmost upon such of our Enemies as shall fall into our 
Hands. 

And whereas the said J. D. of Y. in Order to the expediting 
the Idolatrous and Bloody Designs of the Papists, the gratifying 
his own boundless Ambition after a Crown, and to hinder 
Inquiry into the Assassination of Arthur Earl of Effex, hath 
poisoned the late King, and thereby manifested his Ingratitude 
as well as Cruelty to the World, in murthering a Brother who 
had almost ruined himself to preserve and protect him from 
Punishment : We] do therefore further declare, That for the 
aforesaid Villanous and Unnatural Crime, and other his Crimes 
before mentioned, and in Pursuance of the Resolution of both 
Houses of Parliament, who voted to revenge the King's Death 
in Case he came to an untimely End, we will prosecute the said 
J. D. of Y, till we have brought him to suffer what the Law 
adjudged to be the Punishment of so execrable a Fact. 

And in a more particular Maner, his Grace the Duke of Mon- 
mouth, being sensible of the Barbarous and Horrid Parricide 
committed upon his Father, doth resolve to pursue the said J. 
D. of K as a mortal and bloody Enemy, and will endeavour as 
well with his own Hand, as by the Assistance of his Friends and 
the Law, to have Justice executed upon them. 

And the said James Duke of Monmouth, the new Head and 
Captain General of the Protestant Forces of this Kingdom, 
assembled for the End aforesaid, from the Generousness of his 
own Nature, and the Love he bears to these Nations, whose 
Welfare and Settlement he infinitely prefers to whatsoever may 
concern himself, doth not at present insist upon his Title ; but 
leaves the Determination thereof to the Wisdom, Justice, and 
Authority of a Parliament legally chosen, and acting with 
Freedom : And in the mean Time doth profess and declare 
by all that is Sacred, that he will, in Conjunction with the People 
of England, imploy all the Abilities bestowed upon him by God 
and Nature, for the Re-establishment and Preservation of the 
Protestant Reformed Religion in these Kingdoms, and for res- 

o 2 



196 W$t Q&t&mn ^rangactiong* 

toring the Subjects of the same to a free Exercise thereof, in 
Opposition to Popery, and the consequences of it, Tyranny and 
Slavery. To the obtaining of which End, he doth hereby pro- 
mise and oblige himself to the People of England, to consent 
unto, and promote the passing into Laws all the Methods afore- 
said ; that it may never more be in the Power of any single 
Person on the Throne, to deprive the Subjects of their Rights, 
or subvert the Fundamental Laws of the Government designed 
for their Preservation. 

And whereas the Nobility, Gentry, and Commons of Scotland 
are now in Arms upon the like Motives and Inducements that 
we are, and in Prosecution of Ends agreable with ours ; We do 
therefore approve the Justice of their Cause, commend their 
Zeal and Courage, expecting their, and promising our Assistance, 
for carrying on that Glorious Work we are jointly engaged in ; 
being obliged, for avoiding Tediousness, to omit the recounting 
many Oppressions under which the Kingdom hath groaned ; 
and the giving a Deduction of the several Steps that have been 
taken for introducing of Popery and Tyranny: We think fit 
thereof to signifie, both to our Countrymen and Foreigners, that 
we intend a larger Testimony and Remonstrance of the Griev- 
ances, Persecutions, Cruelties, and Tyrannies we have of late 
layn under ; and therein a more full and particular Account of 
the unparalleird Crimes of the D. of Y. And we make our 
Appeal unto God, and all Protestant Kings, Princes, States, and 
People, concerning the Justice of our Cause, and the Necessity 
we are reduced unto of having our Recourse to Arms. And as 
we do beseech, require, and adjure all sincere Protestants and 
true Englishmen, to be assisting to us against the Enemies of 
the Gospel, Rights of the Nation, and Liberties of Mankind : 
So we are confident of obtaining the utmost Aid and Succour 
which they can yield us, with their Prayers, Persons, and Estates, 
for the Dethroning the said Tyrant, &c. nor do we doubt being 
justified, countenanced, and assisted by all Protestant Kings, 
Princes, and Commonwealths, who either regard the Gospel of 
Jesus Christ, or their own Interest : And above all, our Depen- 
dance and Trust is upon the Lord of Hosts, in whose Name 
we go forth, and to whom we commit our Cause and refer the 
Decision betwixt us and our Enemies in the Day of Battle. - 



harness 2Dufee of S^Ditmoutf). 197 

Now let us play the Men for our People, and for the Cities of our 
God, and the Lord do that which seemeth good unto him. 

Thus, Reader, I have given you a Copy of the Duke of Mon- 
mouth's Declaration, (which was disperst in the West of England 
in the Year 1685.) But it not being the Part of an Historian 
to make Remarks, I have satisfied my self with barely in- 
serting, it leaving every Reader to make what Reflections on 
it he thinks fit. 



A brief A bstract of his True Speech. 

I repent in general of all my Sins, and am more particularly 
concerned for what Blood hath been spilt on my Account, and 
the rather, seeing the Issue is such as I fear will prove of fatal 
Consequence to the Reformed Protestant Religion. 

Instead of being counted Factious and Rebellious, the very 
opposing of Popery and Arbitrary Power, now arising and ap- 
pearing plain enough, would sufficiently have protected my 
Cause ; besides, several other most hainous and notorious 
Crimes, (such as the unhappy Fate of the Earl of Essex, and my 
Father of ever blessed Memory, and others now covered over 
with Jesuitical Policy) should have been detected and avenged. 

I have lived, and shall now die in the Faith of this, that God 
will work a Deliverance for his People, and then will be dis- 
covered the great and horrid, and scarcely to be parallelled 
Villanies our Enemies have been guilty of ; but now you see 
my Case is desperate, yet know that I die a MARTYR FOR 
THE PEOPLE, and shall rather pity the State, that their false 
and covetous Minds have brought themselves and me to ; than 
discover who are the Persons concerned in my Overthrow, and 
I heartily forgive all that have wronged me, even those that have 
been instrumental in my Fall, earnestly praying for their 
Souls. 

And I hope King James will shew himself to be of his Bro- 
ther's Blood, and extend his Mercy to my Children, even as he 
was wont to his greatest Enemies, they being not capable to act, 
and therefore not conscious of any Offence against the Govern- 
ment. 



198 %$t (Mmttn %van$miow. 



His ELEGY. 

Come, Mortals, come, now set yourselves to weep, 

Is not your Glorious M — gone to sleep ? 

Send us some Tears, you Indians, from your Shoa r, 
For it's our Grief that we can mourn no more. 
We want some Mourners from the utmost Coast 
Of all the Earth, that Grief may not be lost. 
When Britain hath sat down and mourn'd her Fill, 
She ought to send for other Mourners still. 
Created Things, come set your selves to mourn, 

Since Lovely M from the World is torn. 

Should you not mourn, and tell your Children so, 
That Ages hence may mourn and sorrow too, 
? Cause we have lost so great a Good as this, 
Who was our Flow'r, and mourning Europe's Bliss ? 
The Sun did mourn the Morning of that Day, 
And with the Clouds of Darkness did array 
His Glorious Face, that Mortals might not see 
His Royal Rays, while they did murther thee. 

O Lovely M , Glory of our Land, 

Who for God's Word did like a Pillar stand. 
All Things but Devils seemed then to weep, 
Nor could the Earth almost in Silence keep. 
Methought all joy would vanish from the Earth, 

And Pleasantness would stop with M- y s Breath. 

Methought the Sun might now be angry grown, 
And would no more on Earth be seen or known. 
We fear'd the Heavens now disturbed were, 
And for the Earth would take no further Care. 
All good Men griev'd to see that fatal blow, 
Whilst floods of Tears did from the Heavens flow. 
But that black Blow, instead of proving Three, 
Like Russell's Fate, Five Bloody Stroaks they see. 
Ye Ages all, let this recorded be, 

And let all Mankind, M , mourn for thee. 

Could we but draw those blessed Looks of his, 
As when we saw him walking hence to Bliss, 



3|ameg 2Dufce of 9£onmoutIj> 199 

When from the Tower he did the Hill ascend, 

Where Troops of Angels did his Soul attend ; 

One would have thought, to see him in that Throng, 

That he to Bliss already did belong. 

His Countenance all others did out-shine, 

And made his very Foes to Grief incline. 

No sooner was his Soul arriv'd in Bliss, 

Where he receiv'd a better Crown for this ; 

Than Phoebus and the Earth began to shine, 

And pleasant Looks towards us do incline. 

The Clouds and Tears were wip'd from Heaven's Face, 

And Glorious Brightness did again take Place. 

Now, Happy Soul, we leave thee to thy Rest, 

To live in Joys that cannot be exprest. 

Argile and the Duke of Monmouth being now both safe in 
their Graves, King James was so pufft up with a petty Victory 
over a few Clubmen, and so wrapt up with a Conceit, that he 
had now conquered the whole Nation, (so that now believing 
himself impregnable) he resolves to be reveng'd upon the 
Western People for siding with his Capital Enemy Monmouth^ 
and to that purpose sends down his Executioner in Ordinary, 
Jeffreys, not to decimate according to the Heathen Way of 
Mercy, but with the Beesom of his Cruelties, to sweep the 
Country before him, and to depopulate instead of Punishment, 
at which Time Acquaintance or Relation of any that fell in 
the Field, with a slender Circumstance tack'd to either, was 
a Crime sufficient for the extirpation of the Family. And 
Young and Old were hang'd by Clusters, as if the Chief Justice 
had designed to raise the Price of Halters ; besides the great 
Number of those that upon bare Suspicion were transported 
beyond Sea, and there sold for Slaves, and the Purchase-Money 
given away to satisfy the Hunger of needy Papists. — After- 
Ages will read with Astonishment the barbarous Usage of those 
poor People ; of which among many Instances, this one may 
seem sufficient, whereby to take the Dimensions of all the rest : 
That when the Sister of the two Hewlings hung upon the Chief 
Justice's Coach, imploring Mercy on the behalf of her Brothers, 
the merciless Judge, to make her let go, caus'd the Coach-man 



200 W$z WLtmvn ^rangactfong* 

to cut her Hands and Fingers with the Lash of his Whip. 
Nor would he allow the Respite of the Execution but for 
two Days, tho' the Sister with Tears in her Eyes offered a 
Hundred Pounds for so small a Favour. And whoever sheltered 
any of those forlorn Creatures, were hurried to the Slaughter- 
house with the same inexecrable Outrage, without any Con- 
sideration either of Age or Sex ; Witness the Execution of the 
Lady Lisle at Winchester. As for Argile and the Duke, tho' 
they might die pitied, yet in Regard they had declared open 
Hostility, it was no more than they were to expect upon ill 
Success. 

We shall now, to compleat our Western Martyrology, (and that 
we may not be too tedious) proceed to give the particular 
Cases of those that were condemned and executed in the 
WEST, with their Christian Behaviour and Dying-Speeches, 
as their plain Country Friends have preserved 'em. 



The Dying-Speech and Behaviour of Mr. Matth. 

Bragg. 

And we begin with Mr. Matthew Bragg,who was a Gentleman, 
and descended from an Ancient and Good Family; he was bred 
an Attorney, in which he practised the Law : His Case being 
this, he happened to be upon the Road riding home to his House, 
being come from a Gentleman's House for whom he kept courts. 
He, as before, being met with by a Party of Horse belonging 
to the Duke of Momnouth, who were going to search the 
House of a Roman Catholick for Arms, who lived two or three 
Miles from the Place they met him, they required him to go 
with them, and show them the way, he knowing the Country 
better than they did ; he desired to be excused, telling them, 
It was none of his Business, and besides had no . Arms. 
But his Excuses signified nothing, they forced him amongst them, 
where they went ; when being come, a Party enter'd the House 5 
and searcht it : Mr. Bragg never dismounted, they being then 
satisfied, took him along with them to Chard, where then the 



9t£r* S^attf)* ©raffs:. 201 

Duke of Monmouth was. Being there, after having set up his 
Horse where he used to do, often having Occasion there, he was 
tampered with to engage in the Design, but he refused it ; but 
the next Morning made haste out of Town, not seeing the Duke 
at all ; calling for his Horse, it was told him, That it was seized 
for the Duke's Service. So then he took his Cane and Gloves, 
and walked to his own House, which was about five or six Miles, 
and was no more concerned in the Affair, than that after the 
Duke's Defeat at Kings-Sedge-Moore, some busie Person in- 
formeth, and requireth a Warrant from a Justice of Peace for the 
said Mr. Bragg,who obliged himself to enter into a Recognizance 
to appear at the next Assizes ; the said Justice accounting the 
Matter in itself but trivial ; and indeed all Men did judge him 
out of Danger. At Dorchester he appeared in Court to discharge 
his Bail, on which he was presently committed, and the next 
Day being Arraigned, pleading Not Guilty, put himself on the 
Trial of God and his Country, which found him and 28 more of 
30 Guilty ; the Lord Chief Justice often saying, If any Lawyer 
or Parson came under his Inspection, they should not escape; 
the Evidence against him was the Roman Catholick, whose House 
was searcht, and a Woman of ill Fame, to whom the L. Chief 
Justice was wonderfully kind ; but his Evidence, which were 
more than Twenty, to prove his Innocence, signified nothing, the 
Jury being well instructed by my Lord Chief Justice. Being 
thus found Guilty, Sentence was presently pronounced, and 
Execution awarded, notwithstanding all the Interest that was 
made for him, as before recited. 

Thus being condemned on Saturday, and ordered to be ex- 
ecuted on Monday, he spent the Residue of his little Time very 
devoutly, and much becoming a good Christian, and a true 
Protestant of the Church of England, all which availed nothing 
with this Protestant Judge. He was frequently visited by a 
worthy Divine of the Church of England, who spent much 
Time with him, and received great Satisfaction from him. 
The said Divine told me, That his Deportment, Behaviour, and 
Converse was so much like an extraordinary Christian, that 
he could not in the least doubt but this violent Passage would 
put him into the Fruition of Happiness. He wisht and de- 
sired a little longer Time, out of no other Design, but thoroughly 



202 W$t aaie^tern Crartgacttongf* 

to repent of his Sins, and make himself more sensible of, and 
fit for to receive the Inheritance that is prepared for those that 
continue in well-doing to the End. When he came to the Place 
of Execution with great Courage and Resolution, being, as he 
said, Prepared for Death, he behaved himself very gravely and 
devoutly.. Being asked, when he was on the Ladder, Whether 
he was not sorry for his being concerned in the Rebellion ; He 
replied, That he knew of none that he was guilty ofj and 
prayed them not to trouble him ; adding, He was not the first 
that was martyr* dj he was so much a Christian as to forgive 
his Enemies. And after some private Devotions he suddenly 
was translated, as we have all Hopes to believe, from Earth to 
Heaven. The only Favour of this Protestant Judge was, to give 
his Body to his Friends, in Order to its Interment amongst his 
Ancestors. 



The Behaviour of Mr. Smith, Constable of Chard- 
stock. 

Another Eminent Person that suffered with him at the same 
Time and Place, was one Mr. Smith, who was Constable of 
Chardstock, who having some Monies in his Hands that belonged 
to the Militia, which came to the Knowledge of some of the 
Duke's Friends, they obliged him to deliver it to them, which he 
was forced to deliver ; and for this was indicted for High-Trea- 
son, in assisting the Duke of Monmouth. To which he pleaded 
Not Guilty. The Evidence against him were the same with 
those that had been against Mr. Bragg. The said Mr. Smith 
informed the Court and the Jury, what little Credit ought to be 
given to the Evidence. The Lord Chief Justice thundered at 
him, saying, Thou Villain, methinks I see thee already with a 
Halter about thy Neck; thou impudent Rebel, to challe?ige these 
Evidences that are for the King. To which the Prisoner re- 
plied very boldly, My Lord, I now see which way I ant going, 
and right or wrong I must die j but this I co?nfo?'t my self with, 
That your Lordship can only destroy 7ny Body j it is out of your 
Power to touch my soul. God forgive your Rashness; pray, my 



91£r* »>mtti)* 203 

Lord, know it is not a small Matter you are about, the Blood 
of Man is more precious than the whole World. And then 
was stopped from saying any more. The Evidences being heard, 
a strict Charge was given the jury about him. To be short, 
the Jury brought him in Guilty; so that he with the rest received 
the Sentence of Death all together, and were executed on Mon- 
day ; but by particular Order from my Lord, he was ordered to 
be first executed. The Day being come for Execution, being 
Monday, he with a Courage undaunted, was brought to the 
Place, where with Christian Exhortations to his Brethren that 
suffered with him, he was ordered to prepare, being the first to 
be executed, where he spake as followeth : Christian Friends, I 
am now, as you see, launching into eternity j so that it may be 
expected I should speak something before I leave this miserable 
World, and pass through those Sufferings, which are dreadful to 
Flesh and Blood; which indeed shall be but little, because I long 
to be before a Just Judge, where I must give an Account, not 
only for the Occasion of my Sufferings now, but for Sins long 
unrepented of, which iiideed hath brought me to this dismal Place 
and shameful Death. And truly, dear Country -men, having 
ransacked my Soul, I cannot find my small concern with the 
Duke of Monmouth, doth deserve this heavy Judgment on me; 
but I know, as I said before, it is for Sins long unrepented of 
I die in Charity with all Men; I desire of all you to bear me 
Witness, I die a true Professor of the Church #/" England; be- 
seeching the Lord still to stand up in the Defe7ice of it. God for- 
give my passionate Judge, and cruel and hasty Jury ; God 
forgive them, they know not what they have done. God bless 
the King; and though his Judges had no Mercy on me, 1 wish 
he 7nay find Mercy when he standeth most in Need of it; 
Make him, O Lord, a tiursing Father to the Church; let Mercy 
flow abundantly from him, if it be thy Will, to those poor 
Prisoners, to be hereafter tried; and, Lord, if it be thy Holy 
Will, stop this issue of Christian Blood, a?td let my guiltless 
Blood be the last spilt on this account. Gentle7iie7i all, fare well, 
fare well all the things of the World : Then singing some few 
Verses of a Psalm, and putting up some private Ejaculations to 
himself; said, O Lord, into thy Hands I commend my Spirit, 
and so submitted to the Executioner, Sept. 7. 1685. 



204 %ty Wlt&tzvn %x&n&mion&. 

The Behaviour and Dying-Speech of Mr. Joseph Speed 

of Culliton. 

At the same Time and Place, as he came near the Place of 
iris Execution, he spying his Country man and Friend, called him, 
and said, I am glad to see you here now, because I am not 
known in these Parts ; being answered by his Friend, I am sorry 
to see you in this Condition : He replies, It is the best Day I 
ever saw ; I thank God I have not led my Life as Unchristian- 
like as many have done, having since the Years of 16 always 
had the Checks of Conscience on me, which made me to avoid 
many gross and grievous Sins ; my Course of Life hath been 
well known to you, yet I cannot Justine my self ; all Men err. 
I have not been the least of Sinners, therefore cannot excuse 
myself; but since my Confinement I have received so great 
Comfort, in some Assurance of the Pardon of my Sins, that I 
can now say, I am willing to die, to be dissolved, and to be with 
Christ, and say to Death, Where is thy Sting f And to Grave, 
Where is thy Victory? Being asked by some rude Soldiers, 
Whether he was not sorry for the Rebellion he was found guilty 
of? He couragiously replied, If you call it a Rebellion, I assure 
you I had no sinister Ends in being concerned ; for my whole 
Design in taking up Arms under the Duke of Monmouth, was 
to fight for the Protestant Religion, which my own Conscience 
dictated me to, and which the said Duke declared for, and had, 
I think, a lawful Call and Warrant for so doing, and do not 
question, that if I have committed any Sin in it, but that it is 
pardoned ; Pray, Mr. Sheriff, let me be troubled no more in an- 
swering of Questions, but give me Leave to prepare my self 
(those few Minutes I have left) for another World, and go to my 
Jesus, who is ready to receive me : Then calling to his Friend, 
who stood very near him, said, My dear Friend, you know I have 
a dear Wife and Children, who will find me wanting, being some- 
what incumbered in the World, let me desire you as a Dying 
Man, to see that she be not abused ; and as for my poor Chil- 
dren, I hope the Father of Heaven will take Care of them, and 
give them Grace to be dutiful to their distressed Mother ; and 
so with my Dying love to all my Friends, when you see them, I 



9t£t\ 3Jof)n Sprage* 205 

take Leave of you, and them, and all the World, desiring your 
Christian Prayers for me to the last Moment ; then repeating 
some Sentences of Scripture, as, Colosstans, chap. 3. 5. i, 
2, If you then, &c. and praying very fervently, said, I thank 
God I have Satisfaction; I am ready and willing to suffer Shame 
for his Name : And so pouring fourth some private Ejaculations 
to himself, and lifting up his Hands, the Executioner did his 
Office : The Soldiers then present said, They never before were 
so taken with a Dying Man's Speech; his Courage and Christian- 
like Resolution, caused many violent Men against the Prisoners.* 
to repent of their Tyranny towards them ; some of whom in a 
short Time died full of Horror : And thus fell this good Man, 
a true Protestant, and one that held out to the End. 



An Account of those that Suffered at Bridport and 

Lyme. 

At Bridport one John Sprage, who was a very good Man, 
and behaved himself with a great deal of Christian-like Courage 
to the End : His Speech and his Devotions, &*c. must be 
omitted, not being possible to take them, by Reason of the 
Rudeness, 6°r. and the Shortness of the Time allowed him by 
the Soldiers. 

With Mr. John Sprage there were executed Twelve in the 
County of Dorset. Mr. John Sprage of Lyme, a Man more fit 
to die, than he that condemned him was fit to live : He was a 
zealous Christian, and a Man that in a Manner lived in Heaven 
while on Earth ; he was but of an ordinary Estate in this World ; 
But to be short, his Praise, his Worth, his Fame will never die 
in those Places where known ; he went about doing good, even 
in his worldly Employments, as I have been credibly informed ; 
hardly any thing coming that Way, but what his Spiritual 
Meditations were upon. He was apprehended near Salisbury, 
brought to Dorchester, where I saw him several Times, and 
was conversant with him before his Trial ; he carried himself 
very moderately to all ; some of divers Principles in Matters of 



206 %l)t WLt&tmx Crangactiong. 

Religion, he continually prayed with them, advising and instruct- 
ing them to those holy Duties which were necessary to Salva- 
tion. Being asked, how he could endure those Hardships he 
had undergone since his being taken ? Says he, If this be all, 
"'tis not so much ; but my Friend,, if yon were to take a Journey 
in those Ways you were 7tot acquainted with, you would \I 
hope) desire Advice from those that had formerly used those 
Ways, or lived near by them: Yes, says he : Then said^he, 
The Ways of Affliction which I have lately travelled in, I had 
Advice many a Time from a M mister, who hath often told 
his Congregation of the Troublesomness of the Road, and of 
the Difficulty of getting through; and hath given me, and 
Hundreds of others to understand the Pitts a7id Stones in the 
Way, and how to avoid them; he has been a Man tised to 
these Roads many Years; I have taken his Advice ; I am 
got thus far on comfortably, and I trust shall do so to the 
End; I am not afraid to fight a Duel with Death, if so it must 
be : Now I thank God I can truly say, O Death where is thy 
Sting? And O Grave, where is thy Victory / Two" or three 
Days after their Sentence, they were drawn to Execution, but 
were very rudely and approbriously dealt with, to the Shame of 
those that then had the Charge over them ; their Rigor unto 
them was more like Turks than Christians. But to conclude, 
being come to the Place of Execution, he prayed very devoutly 
with them all, but by the Rudeness of the Guards, there could be 
no Copy taken to be said to be true : All of them died very cou- 
ragious, especially this Stout Christian Champion, who spake to 
them in these Words, (looking on the Soldiers) saying, Little do 
you think that this very Body of mine, which you are 7iow come 
to see cut in Pieces, will one Day rise tip in Judgment against 
you, and be your Accuser, for your Delight in spilling of Chris- 
tian Blood; the Heathens have far more Mercy ; O 'tis sad, 
when England must out-strip Infidels and Pagans 4 But pray 
take Notice, don't think that I am not in Charity with you; I 
a??i so far, that I forgive you and all the World; and do desire 
the God of Mercies to forgive you, and open your Hearts, and 
turn you from Darkness to Light, and from the Power of Satan 
to the Lord Jesus Christ ; and so FareweL I a?n going out of 
the Power of you all ; I have no Dependence but upon my 



Colonel l£olme0. 207 

Blessed Redeemer, to whom I commit 7ny dear Wife and Children 
and all the World. 

The next Place was Lyme, where many of Note died, par- 
ticularly Col. Holmes, who was the first of those there executed, 
near the same Place where they landed, when they came a-Shoar 
with the Duke of Monmouth, being brought to the Place after 
some Difficulty ; for the Horses that were first put into the 
Sledge would not stir, which obliged those concerned to get 
others, which they did from the Coachman, who had that Morn- 
ing brought them to Town ; when they were put into the Sledge, 
they broke it in Pieces, which caused the Prisoners to go on foot 
to the Place of Execution ; where being come, as I told you 
before, the Colonel began thus at the Foot of the Ladder ; he 
sat down with an Aspect altogether void of Fear, but on the 
contrary with a kind of smiling Countenance, so began to speak 
to the Spectators to this Purpose, That he would give them an 
Account of his first Undertaking in the Design, which was long 
before in London; for there he agreed to stand by, and assist 
the D. of Momnouth, when Opportunity offered ; in Order to 
which he went to Holland with him, and there continued until 
this Expedition, in which God had thought fit to frustrate his 
and other good Mens Expectations : He believed the Protestant 
Religion was bleeding, and in a Step towards Extirpation and, 
therefore he with these his Brethren that were to suffer with him, 
and Thousands more, had adventured their Lives and their All 
to save it ; but God Almighty had not appo inted 'em to be the 
Instruments in so glorious a Work ; yet notwithstanding he did 
verily believe, and doubted not, but that God would make Use 
of others, that should meet with better Success, tho' the Way or 
Means was not yet visible, but of this he did not doubt : He 
also was satisfied of the Duke's Title, so that Matter did not 
afflict him on Account of his engaging on his Score : And 
going on further with a Discourse of this Nature, he was asked 
by a Person, Why he did not pray for the King? He with a 
smiling Countenance answered, / am sorry you do not yet un- 
derstand the Difference between Speaking and Praying; And 
having ended his Discourse, he then prepared himself by Prayer 
for his Dissolution, which was very Devout and Pious for half 
an Hour ; which was as follows : 



208 ^t Wlt0tm\ ^rangacttons* 

Colonel Holme's Last Prayer. 

Most Glorious, most Great, and most Merciful God, there is 
none in Heaven or in Earth that is like unto thee ; Heaven is 
thy Throne, and the Earth is thy Footstool ; who shall say unto 
thee, What doest thou? Here we are poor deplorable Creatures 
come to offer up our last Prayers and Services unto thee ; we 
beseech thy Favourable Ear to our Prayers, and the Comfort of 
thy Holy. Spirit, at this Time ; we praise and magnifie thy Name, 
for all the Dispensations of thy Providence towards us, especially 
for this thy Providence, in bringing us to this Place, and at this 
Time, to suffer Shame for thy Name : Help and assist all of us 
to submit to thy Will patiently. Pardon all our Sins, remove 
them out of thy Presence as far as the East is from the West, 
and accept of us in the Merits of thy Son Jesus Christ ; thou 
who art the Searcher of Hearts, and Trier of Reins, let there not 
at the Moment of Death be the least Spark of Sin indwelling in 
us, nor the Strivings of Flesh and Blood, that may hinder us 
from a joyful Passage unto thee : Give us Patience also under 
these Sufferings, and a Deliverance to all others from undergo- 
ing them, and in thy good Time work a Deliverance for poor 
England, let thy Gospel yet flourish among them, hasten the 
downfal of Antichrist, we trust the Time is come ; prevent, O 
Lord, this Effusion of Christian Blood ; and if it be thy Will, 
let this be the last : Lord, bless this Town, let them from the 
highest to the lowest set the Fear of God before their Eyes : 
Bless all sorts and conditions of Men in all Ranks and Qualities, 
pardon all their Sins, give them all true repentance, and the 
Grace of thy Holy Spirit ; fit and prepare us for the chearful 
Fulfilling of thy Holy Will ; let the Comforter be still with us ; 
be merciful to all our Friends, and Relations, and Acquaintance ; 
forgive our Enemies, accept of our Thankfulness for all the 
Mercies and Favours afforded us, and hear, and graciously 
answer us in these our Requests, and what else thou knowest 
needful and expedient for us, and all for our Redeemer the Lord 
Jesus Christ his Sake ; who died for us, that we might reign with 
him for ever and ever 5 to whom with thee and thy Blessed 
Spirit of Grace be ascribed, as is most due, all Honour, Glory, 
and Praise, both now and for ever. 



Colonel ^olme& 209 

After having ended his prayer, he took Occasion to speak to 
his suffering Brethren, taking a solemn Leave of them, encou- 
raging them to hold out to the End, and not to waver, observing 
that this being a Glorious Sun-shining Day, I doubt not, though 
our Breakfast be sharp and bitter, it will prepare us, and make 
us meet for a comfortable Supper, with our God and Saviour, 
where all Sin and Sorrow shall be wiped away ; so embracing 
each of 'em, and kissing of 'em, told the Sheriff, You see I am 
imperfect, only one Arm, I shall want Assistance to help me 
upon this Tragical Stage; which was presently done, and Ex- 
ecution suddenly followed. 

He with Eleven more were brought from Dorchester to Lyme, 
Six in a Coach, and Six in a Cart ; as he was drawn through the 
Town, he chearfully beholding the People, advised them not to be 
discouraged at their severe Deaths ; for that though it was their 
hard Fortunes to lose the Day in so good a Cause, yet he 
questioned not but it would be revived again, and by such Means 
as he nor they could not imagine ; God, I hope and trust, will 
never let this Nation to fall into Popery. Being brought to the 
Inn where they stopped near two Hours, until the Butchers had 
prepared every Thing for the Slaughter, they were visited by a 
very Worthy Divine, and Vicar of that Town, who offered them 
those Spiritual Helps, as usual in those Occasions, which some of 
them embraced, and others not ; their Principles being different 
from the Church of England. The Jaylor speaking to Colonel 
Holmes to knock off his Irons, he said, Great Men of State 
wear Chains, and 'tis accounted for their Honour, but though 
there is a vast Difference betwixt those Golden ones and mine, 
yet I take mine to be more honourable, as that good Apostle 
said, he accounted it an Honour to suffer Shame for his 
Master's Name ; the Sledge being in Readiness they prepared 
to enter it ; but alas ! Who should draw such Men to Execu- 
tion ? Though Men were so bloody, the very Beasts refused to 
draw them ; and instead of going forward, they went backwards, 
and could by no Means make them do it, which so inraged 
some Persons, that they took the Coach-Horses out of the 
Coach, and placed them to the Sledge ; but presently the Sledge 
broke in Pieces ; then spake this worthy good Man : Pray, 
Gentlemen, you see all your strivings will not do to draw us to 

P 



210 %ty Wltgmn %van$attion$. 

Execution, I verily believe there is more in it than you are aware 
of ; pray read about the Prophet, that went out of God's Way, 
his Beast saw that he could not. 

Give us Leave, and we will walk to the Place ; being there 
come, the Colonel prepared first to mount that Tragical Stage, 
the Heads of his Speech you have before ; imb racing his Fellow- 
Sufferers, and kissing them, and giving them some ghostly Com- 
forts ; he desired Help of the Sheriff to go up the Ladder, 
having* but One Arm, and the Gallows higher than ordinary, 
which was granted : And in a short Time after the Executioner 
did his Office. 

Col. Holmes in his Prayer not mentioning the King, he was 
charged as before ; to which he replied, He prayed for him in 
general, praying for all Mankind. Thus fell the Valiant and 
good Christian, Col. Holmes j his Dying- Words we have now 
found come to pass ; he was much lamented by all that saw him, 
except by some, that, 'tis feared, are delivered up to a seared 
Conscience. 



Now follows the Execution of Mr. Sam. Larke. 

Mr. Sampson Larke, who was a very eminent, pious Man, 
and had lived in that Town but little before many Years ; he 
was there well acquainted, and all People that knew him had a 
Value for him, behaving himself with that Humility and Cir- 
cumspection, as no Body could have any other Occasion but to 
value him : He designed to have spoken somewhat on a Portion 
of Scripture, and was beginning, having mentioned the Place 
he intended to speak upon, but was interrupted, and told, the 
Work of the Day being great, they should want Time. So then 
he stopt, and replied, He could make Application where he 
should not meet with interruption j And so applied himself to 
Prayer, which he performed with great Devotion and Zeal for a 
Quarter of an Hour, to the great Satisfaction of the Auditors ; 
and so taking Leave of his suffering Brethren, he mounted the 
Stage, which was to be the last Act he made in this World ; 
being on the Ladder, he saw some of his Friends and Neighbours 
weeping and mourning for him, to whom he spake, Pray weep 



9$r* %ylzv. 211 

not for me, I am going to a Place of Bliss and Happiness, 
wherefore pray repair to your Houses, and e'er you get thither, 
I doubt not but I shall be happy with my God and Saviour, 
where all Tears shall be wiped away, and nothing shall remain 
but Hallelujahs to all Eternity. 

There was also Mr. William Hew ling of London,, a young 
Gentleman under Twenty, who came over with the Duke of 
Monmouth, he seemed to be in a calm and composed Frame 
of Spirit, and with a great deal of Courage and Seriousness he 
behaved himself. There is already something said of his Con- 
verse and Discourse, which amongst others is Printed ; therefore 
we shall say nothing more of him, but that in all Manner ot 
Appearance he died a good Christian, a true Protestant, and 
doubtless now enjoys the Benefit of it. There were several 
worthy Gentlemen more there executed, viz. Mr. Chris toph 
Battiscomb, Dr. Temple, Capt. Madders, Captain Matthews, 
Captain Kid, &c. in all Twelve, who all of them died with that 
Courage and Resolution as became Christians, and such who 
eminently had adventured their Lives and Fortunes in Defence 
of what was most dear to them ; and namely our Religion, 
which though God did not think fit to defend and secure it, yet 
in his Wisdom we hope it will be in some Measure secured by 
other Instruments, the Glory of the same being only due to him. 
So that now leaving this Place, we proceed to other Parts of the 
Country, where with the like Butchery were only Five executed, 
amongst whom was one Mr. Tyler of Bristol, who had had 
Command in the Duke's Army, where he hehaved himself very 
stoutly to the last ; after the Army was dispersed, he among 
others was taken, received Sentence of Death at Dorchester, and 
here brought for the Completion of the same, and from thence 
we hope was translated to Heaven. He spent his Time between 
the Sentence and Execution very devoutly, in confirming and 
strengthening those that were to be his Fellow-Sufferers ; and 
made it his Business to bring them to a Willingness to submit 
to, and a Preparedness for Death : The Day being come, and 
he brought to the Place of Execution, he thus spoke, My Friends, 
you see I am now on the Brink of Eternity, and in a few 
Minutes shall be but Clay ; you expect I should say something, 
as is usual in such Cases, as to the Matter of Fact I die for, it 

P2 



212 %%t Mmtvn Crangacttong* 

doth not much trouble me, knowing to my self the Ends for which 
I engaged myself with the Duke of Monmouth were both good 
and honourable. Here being stopped, and not suffered to pro- 
ceed further, he then comforted his Fellow-sufferers, desiring 
them to join with him in singing an Hymn, which he himself 
Composed for the Occasion as follows : 



A HYfyfN made by Mr. Joseph Tyler, a little before 

his Execution. 



O Lord, how Glorious is thy Grace, 
And wondrous large thy Love ; 

At such a dreadful Time and Place, 
To such as faithful prove ! 

2. 

If thou wilt have thy Glory hence, 
Though a shameful Death we die, 

We bless thee for this Providence, 
To all Eternity. 

3- 

Let these Spectators see thy Grace 
In thy poor Servants shine ; 

While we by Faith behold thy Face 
In that bless'd Son of thine. 

4. 
Though Men our Bodies may abuse. 

Christ took our Souls to Rest ; 
Till he brings forth the joyful News, 

Ye are my Father's Blest, 

5- 
Appear for those that plead thy Cause, 

Preserve them in the Way, 
Who own King Jesus and his Laws, 

And dare not but obey. 



9£c. »>ampgon Harfee. 213 

6. 

O God confound our cruel Foes, 

Let Babylon come down ; 
Let England's King be one of them 

Shall raze her to the Ground. 

7- 
Through Christ we yield our Souls to thee, 

Accept us on his Score ; 
That where he is, there we may be, 

To praise thee ever more. 

After the Hymn sung he prayed devoutly for half an Hour ; 
after Prayer he gave great Satisfaction to all present of his 
Assurance of Heaven, had many weeping Eyes for him, and 
was much lamented in the Town, though a Stranger to the 
Place ; so unbuttoning himself, said to the Executioner, I fear 
not what Man can do unto mej I pray thee do thy Work in 
Mercy, for I forgive thee with all my Heart, and I also pray 
to God to forgive theej don't mangle my Body too muchj and 
so lifting up his Hands to Heaven, the Executioner did his 
Office. There was also one William Cox that died with him, 
who also died very couragiously, despising the Shame, in Hopes 
and Expectation of a future better Estate. He and his two 
Sons were some of the first that came to the Duke of Mon- 
mouth, and all taken, and all condemned together : The Father 
only suffered, the Sons by Providence were preserved. When 
he was going to Execution he desired Leave to see his Sons, 
then in another Prison in the Town, to whom he gave his 
Blessing; and though he was going to be executed, yet had 
that Satisfaction to hope that God would preserve them, which 
was so. 

Some further Passages relating to Mr. Sampson Larke, 
with his Prayer at the same Time and Place when 
Executed. 

Immediately after Col. Holmes was executed, this good Man 
was ordered to prepare to follow ; accordingly going to deliver 



214 %$t WLtgmn Crangactfong* 

some few Words to the People, some whereof were formerly of 
his Congregation, but being told he could not expect much 
Time, because it was so late, and 'so many to be executed after 
him; so he suddenly concluded, and said, / will now speak a 
few words to him which I am sure will hear me. And so began 
his Prayer as followeth : 

Blessed Lord God, we thine unworthy Creatures now here 
before thee, cannot but acknowledge from the Bottom of our 
Hearts o'ur own unworthiness ; we must confess we have been 
grievous Sinners, and have brought forth the evil Fruit of it in 
our Lives, to the great Dishonour of thy Name, for which we 
have deserved thy heavy Wrath and Indignation to be poured 
forth upon us, not only in this Life, but in that which is to come. 

O let us bless God for our Suffering and Afflictions, as well 
as for our Mercies, we bless thee in particular for this; O 
sanctifie it to us ; let us be effectually convinced of the Vanity 
of the World, and of our own Sinfulness by Nature and Practice* 
and to see that to be Sin which we never saw before ; O Lord* 
make us sensible of the absolute Necessity of the Righteousness 
of Christ to justifie us, and let him be now made much more 
dear and precious to our Souls than ever, that so we may be 
wrought into a more heavenly Frame, and raised to a higher 
Degree of Spirituality, and so made more meek and humble ; 
and let us judge charitably of others, that differ from us in 
Opinion and Judgment. And now, O Lord, though by thy most 
righteous Judgment we most justly deserve these Sufferings, and 
such an ignominious Death, for our Sins against thee, not for 
Treasons against the Kingdom, let us be in a Preparedness for 
it. Pardon all our Sins, help us quietly to submit to thy holy 
will ; speak Peace to all our Souls. Look in Mercy, O Lord, 
on this poor Nation, especially on this Town, and every par- 
ticular Person in it; let them all mind those Things which 
concern their Peace, before they are hid from their Eyes. 
Comfort my dear and distressed Wife, be a Husband unto her, 
deliver her out of the Paw of the Lion, and the Paws of the 
Bear. Look upon all thy poor afflicted Ones, all Prisoners and 
Captives, work Deliverance for them if thou seest it good ; but 
thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. And now, Lord, 
with humble Meekness and submission I submit to thy Will, 



9l£r* £>ampston Hacfee. 215 

depending upon the Merits of my Saviour, to whom with thy 
Blessed Self and Spirit be ascribed all Honour and Praise both 
now and for ever. Amen. 

Then mounting the Ladder, he called to some of the Town 
who weeped for him,. but were at some Distance, Go Home to 
your own Houses, pray do not weep for me, and before you get 
up yonder Hill, I shall be with my Heavenly Father in Fulness 
of Joy and Pleasure for ever more. And so advising those 
before him to leave off those cruel Sentiments they had taken 
of him, besides some heavenly Discourses with some of his 
Friends, he was turned off, to the great Grief of the good People 
of the Town, especially those of his own Congregation. To give 
him nothing but his Due, he was a Man mighty charitable, 
relieving and visiting the Poor and Needy, Preached in Season 
and out of Season, and made it his Business to go about doing 
good, and to put poor Souls in a Way for eternal Life ; he was 
an Old Christian, as well as Aged in Years ; he was a general 
Loss, especially to his dear and tender Wife : But all our Losses 
are nothing to be compared to that Glory that he now enjoys. 

Mr. Sampson Larke's Letter to a Friend just before 

his Execution. 

My dear Friend, I am ready to be offered, and the Time of 
my Departure is at hand ; I have through Grace fought a good 
Fight, have finished my Course, have kept the Faith, and am 
in Hopes of the Crown of Righteousness prepared for me, and 
all God's faithful Ones : The Experiences I have had of the 
Promises, hath given me comfortable Hopes that he will carry 
me to the full End of my Journey, with his Name, and that 
Truth of his, which I have made Profession of. My great 
Crime is for my being a Preacher of the Gospel, and here I 
am to be made a Sacrifice, where I have mostly preached 
Christ's Gospel. I think my Judges have devised this punish- 
ment for my Hurt, but I trust God will turn it to my Good ; the 
great Trouble I have is for those good Hearts that I must 
leave behind me : but this is my Comfort, knowing that all 
such as fear God, he will be a Father to them. My dear Wife 
is greatly troubled, but through Mercy much supported, and 



216 %ty aoiegtem Crangacttong* 

something quieted ; if any of you have Opportunity to give her 
Help, I hope you will do it. As for our confessing our selves 
Guilty, it was expressly as to Matter of Fact, and not of Form ; 
and this I did with some Freedom, and the rather, because all 
my worthy Brethren that went before me took that Way, and 
the many Ways having been used to have a further Discov'ery, 
yet nothing of that Kind by any but only by Captain Jones. 
Since our Sentence, some wretched Men have been with us, to 
draw from us a Confession of our being Rebels, that we might 
have their Absolution. I bless God, he hath hitherto helped 
me to be faithful, and I hope he will not leave me in the most 
needful Time. I must conclude, being ready to be called away ; 
my dear Love to all my Christian Friends, and especially those 
in the Goal. The Lord be with you all, Amen. Your dying 
Friend, in Hopes of Eternal Life, through Jesus Christ, Amen. 

Sampson Larke. 
From the House of my blessed Bondage 
in Dorchester ; Septemb. 7. 1685. 



An Account of those Executed at Sherborn. 

At Sherborn, in the same County, were executed Twelve, who 
all died couragiously, especially one Mr. Glisson of Yeoval, 
in the County of Somerset, his extraordinary Deportment and 
Carriage at the Place of Execution, was so very considerable, 
as gave great Satisfaction to his Friends, and Amazement to 
his Enemies. He declared to the World that he was a true 
Protestant, and had not ingaged with the Duke of Monmouth, 
but judged it high Time to stand up for the Defence of the 
same, though God Almighty had thought fit to frustrate his 
Designs, and to bring him to that Place to Seal the same with 
his Blood. Also John Savage, and Richard Hall, of Culliton, 
in the County of Devon, suffered at the same Time and Place ; 
in their particular Conversation they valued those most that 
they saw most of Piety in, and pitied others that they saw not 
so well prepared ; saying, that the Remembrance of our Vanity 



9t£r« 3|ol)n »>pntffue. 217 

may cause Compassion towards such as were in such a Con- 
dition ; exhorting all to be serious, and to consider their latter 
End, which deserved the greatest Attention of Mind ; the Way 
to die comfortably, being to prepare for it seriously ; and if God 
should miraculously preserve us from this Death now before our 
Eyes, it should be the Duty of us all to spend the remaining 
Part of our Time, in such a Manner as now, when we see Death 
just at the Door. At the Hour of Execution their Chearfulness 
and Comfort was much increased, saying, Now the Will of God 
will be done, and he hath most certainly chosen that for us which 
is best; with many other such like Christian Expressions, too 
tedious here to be inserted, because we design to keep to our 
first Intentions, and not to swell this Treatise too big. Upon 
the whole, after they had with much Earnestness recommended 
their Souls to the All-wise God by Prayer, they all with much 
Content and Satisfaction submitted themselves to the Execu- 
tioner, not doubting of a happy Translation, and accordingly 
were executed and quartered as before ; the rest of the Execu- 
tions in this County, as at Weymouth, Pool, Shafton, Wimborne, 
&c.,not being there, we shall pass over, and only give you particular 
Touches, which we saw to our perfect, Knowledge ; and so we 
return to Culliton in the County of Devon, where John Sprague 
and William Clegg, both of that Town, were condemned at 
Exon, and there brought to be executed. Before they were 
brought into the Place, a Messenger came from the Prisoner's 
with a Request to the Vicar of the Parish, to desire his Com- 
pany and Assistance in this their Extremity, and to administer 
those Spiritual Helps that were suitable to Men in their Circum- 
stances. Accordingly the said Minister came very readily, and 
did demand of them, What they had to desire of him? . The 
dying Persons answered, They desired his Prayers. Accordingly 
he prayed with them a considerable Space of Time. And after 
that he asked of them several Qustions, for to give him and the 
World Satisfaction of the prepared Condition they were in, in 
Order to their launching into Eternity, especially about the Doc- 
trine of Non-resistance. John Sprague very soberly and mode- 
rately replied, but whether satisfactory or not, we leave to the 
Reader ; He believed that no Christian ought to resist a lawful 
Power j but the Case being between Popery and Protestantism, 



218 %^t CLflle0tem ^ratigactions* 

altered the Matter; and the latter being in Danger, he believed 
that it was lawful for him to do what he did, though God in 
his Providence had thought fit to bring him to this Place of 
Execution. After reading a Chapter out of the Corinthians, and 
singing a Psalm suitable to the Occasion, he very vehemently 
and fervently recommended his Soul to the All-wise God by 
Prayer for near half an Hour, to the great Satisfaction of all 
that heard him ; then his Wife and Children coming to him, 
weeping bitterly, he imbraced them in his Arms, saying, Weep 
not for me, but weep for your selves, and for your Sins, for that 
he had that quiet Satisfaction, that he was only going to be 
translated i7tto a State of Bliss and Happiness, where he should 
sin and sorrow no more, but that all Tears should be wiped 
away, wishing them to be diligent in the Service of God. Then 
recommending his Wife and Children to the Protection of the 
Almighty God, who had pro?7tised to be Husband to the Widow, 
and a Father to the Fatherless, who was faithful and able to 
make up their Loss in him, in that which should be better for 
them than he could be; desiring God to be a Refuge for them to 
fly to for Security and Preservation from the Troubles that 
seemed to threaten this poor Nation ; the which if they did 
conscientiously perform, though Death here made a Separation, 
he doubted not of 7neeting them in Heaven at last. And so the 
Executioner did his Office. During which Time his Brother- 
Sufferer, William Clegg, was all the Time on his Knees, praying 
to himself with a seeming Zeal ; suddenly after which, his Time 
being come to follow his Brother, he only told the People, That 
his Fellow-sufferer had spoken what he thought was necessary, 
and they were also his Sentiments. And so submitted to Exe- 
cution. 



An Account of those Executed at Axminster and 

Honiton. 

At Axminster one also was executed, his Name Mr. Rose, 
he was a Gunner that landed with the Duke of Monmouth, he 
had a great Resolution, and not at all startled with the Fear 



Apr. <fcban&. 219 

ot Death. He said, That he defyd Death, and all them that 
were the Occasion of it. He was very couragious, and died so. 
He spent some Time in private Prayer, and was not allowed 
Time, because there was to be Execution at Honiton ; so that 
his Execution being over, we pass on to Honiton, where there 
were executed, one of which was a Chyrurgeon, his Name, if 
I do not mistake not, was Mr. Pott, who behaved himself with 
that extraordinary Christian Courage, that all the Spectators 
were almost astonished, he being but Young, about Twenty, his 
Prayers being fervent, his Expressions so pithy, and so becom- 
ing a Christian of greater Age, that drew Pity and Compassion 
from all present ; a rude Fellow, just before he was to be exe- 
cuted, called for a Bottle of Wine, and so began the King's 
Health to One of the Guard, which he perceiving, Poor Soul, 
said he, your Cup seemeth to be sweet to you, and you think 
mine is bitter;- which i7ideed is so to Flesh and Blood j but yet 
I have that Assurance of the Fruition of a future Estate, that 
I doubt not but this bitter Potion will be sweetned with the 
Sugar of the loving Kindness of my dearest Saviour, that I 
shall be translated into such a State, where is Fulness of Joy 
and Pleasure for evermore. 

Before I conclude, one Mr. Evans a Minister ought not to 
be omitted, who did all along, in the Time of his Confinement 
in Prison, behave himself with that Devotion and Strictness, 
that became a Christian of great Eminency, as indeed he was ; 
he spent much of his Time in Preaching and Praying to his 
Fellow-Prisoners, exhorting them to hold out to the End ; he 
at last by Appointment being condemn' d, was executed by him- 
self ; at which Time and Place he behaved himself with great 
Courage and Devotion, and with a great Willingness and Chear- 
fulness he submitted to Execution. There might have been 
much more said of this worthy Man, but because we will keep 
to our Design, shall be omitted. Many others, who were also 
very Eminent, suffered in this County, for asserting and en- 
deavouring to secure the Protestant Religion. 



220 %ty aaitjsterti ^rattgacttongf* 



The Case of Mr. Simon Hamling. 

Thus having finished what we have to say at present, shall 
only add the Case of one Mr. Simon Hamling at Taunton, to 
show that sometimes Innocency will not protect. Mr. Hamling 
was formely an Inhabitant of the Place, but of late Years had 
lived two or three Miles from thence ; he was a very honest, 
worthy, good Christian, but was a Dissenter, and indeed in the 
Judgment of some fiery Men, that might be Crime enough, as 
did too sadly appear in divers Cases. But to our Purpose : 
Mr. Hamling living in the Country, hearing of the Duke of 
Monmouth's being in Town, he there came to speak with his 
Son, who lived in that Place ; where being come he gave him 
Advice, which was, That as he expected his Blessing and 
Countenance, he should not at all concern himself in the Matter, 
but submit to the Will of God in all Things, And having thus 
advised his Son, he returns home ; and two Days after came 
again to Town on a Market-day with his Wife, to buy Provisions 
for his Family, and returned to his House again. And this was 
all the Times he was in Town whiles the Duke was there. But 
after the Business was over, he was brought in on Suspicion, 
being a Dissenter, that was Crime enough, except Coin appeared 
to a Justice of that Town, who usually did commit, or dismiss as 
that appeared. This Man was arraigned at Taunton, pleaded 
Not guilty. The Matter above is the Truth of this Case ; the 
Evidences were two profligate Rascals, that had Incouragement 
from the Justice, they usually doing what he put them on. The 
Prisoner had many to prove this Fact, and his Honesty ; but 
this did not avail, the Jury found him guilty, with two more, who 
were presently sentenced, and next morning executed, to be 
Examples to others. It is said, that the Justice made applica- 
tion to our famous Protestant Judge, and hinted some Mistake 
concerning him. To which, as I have been informed, he should 
reply, You have brought him onj if he be innocent, his Blood 
be upon you. Which was a very fine Reply from a merciful 
Judge ; but nothing else could be expected, as the whole 
Treatise evinceth : The tender Mercies of the Wicked being 
cruel. This Man behaved himself very worthily at the Place of 



$®v. C&omag 3Utorence* 221 

Execution, and did at the last declare his Crime to be the same 
as is above mentioned, and not otherwise. Thus fell this pious 
Christian, a Man by all sober People that knew him beloved, 
and disrespected by none but loose Villains, which at last took 
away his Life. 

There was one Mr. Catchett executed with him, his Crime, 
being a Constable of the Hundred, he was surprised by a Party 
of the Duke's, and shewed a warrant to bring in Provisions and 
other Necessaries for the Use of the Army, which if he had not 
obeyM was threatned to have his House burnt, &>c, so that he 
was obliged to do what he did for his own preservation ; but 
this was not sufficient, for being found guilty, he was also exe- 
cuted at the same Time and Place. 



The Case of Mr. Thomas Lawrence. 

Mr. Thomas Lawrence at Dorchester, had also very hard 
Measure. He had the Managing of an Estate belonging to a 
Person of Quality, who had a Barn in the Parish of Lyme, where 
the Duke landed. The Day after his landing a Party came and 
took away three Horses from off this Estate, which he having the 
Trust and Care of, makes Application to the Duke for them, 
adding, That he ought not to suffer any of his Master's Goods 
to be wanting, but must endeavour to recover them again. So 
mov'd hard to the Duke for the Horses, but all would not 
prevail , but at last had one, and was forced to leave two. This 
was look'd on as an abetting, being judged to be by Consent. 
After the Defeat was given, he was had before a Justice of the 
Peace, who bound him over to the Assises, where appearing, he 
was committed ; pleaded Not guilty on his Trial, which he 
pleaded to very honestly, yet was found guilty, and sentenced to 
die. My Lord was excellent at Improvement, t'was thought he 
would, if possible, have brought in the Gentleman that owned 
the Estate, who was very rich. This honest Mr. Lawrence was 
to be sacrificed, and his execution ordered to be at Warham, 
but my Lord's Favourite got a Reprieve for him by the Help of 



22a C&e aaiegtern ^ransfaction^ 

Four hundred Pounds, Two hundred being actually paid, the 
other secured by Bond. 

I promised, before I conclude, to give some Account of the 
barbarous and cruel Whippings which were executed on many 
good, honest, and sufficient Persons, both Men and Women, in 
the Counties of Dorset, Devon, and Somerset, by the severe and 
cruel Sentence of the Lord Chief Justice ; some for such small 
Crimes, as an impartial Man may judge they deserved none at 
all : More especially one Mr. Stayle of Thorncomb in Devon- 
shire, his Sufferings were so hard, that it caused many to pity 
him ; he was a good Liver, well beloved among his Neighbours, 
and a true Protestant. Also one Mrs. Brown of Lyme suffered 
very dear in that Nature; she only jokingly said unto the 
Officer of the Excise, I will pay my Excise to King Monmouth; 
which being sworn before this severe Judge, she was found guilty 
of a Misdemeanor, was sentenc'd to be whipt in several Market 
Towns, which accordingly was done. But this Cruelty was not 
only extended to those of Riper Years, and able better to endure 
those painful Sufferings, but even to Children. A poor Boy ot 
Weymouth, in the County of Dorset, having got some Pamphlet 
relating somewhat to satisfie the People that the Duke of Mon- 
mouth came to secure the Protestant Religion, had the hard 
Fortune to take his Trial before this harsh Judge ; I think he 
was about ten or twelve Years of Age ; he had the Flesh of his Back 
so cut with the Whipping, that I heard he died with the same ; 
but whether he is dead or not, never was such Cruelty in all 
this World. And now we may see how just the Lord is, he that 
all that Time had no Mercy for any but those that appeared 
loose Villains, is pitied but by few. 



Capt. Madders's Last Prayer at the same Time 

and Place. 

Capt. Madders at the Time of the Duke's Landing was a 
Constable at Crewkern, in the County of Somerset, and so dili- 
gent and active for the King in his Office, that when two Gen- 



Capt. St^atitierg. 223 

tlemen of Lyme came there, and brought the News of the 
Duke's Landing, and desired Horses to ride Post to acquaint his 
Majesty therewith, he immediately secured Horses for them, the 
Town being generally otherways bent, and assisted them so far 
as any called Loyal in those Times could do, which was re- 
presented to the Lord Chief Justice, in expectation thereby to 
save his Life. But an Enquiry being made about his Religion, 
and returned by a very worthy Gentleman of those Parts, That 
he was a good Protestant, an honest Man, had a very good 
Character amongst his Neighbours : O then, says he, Pll hold a 
Wager with you he is a Presbyterian, / can smell them forty 
Miles. Though moderately I now say, they can smell him two 
hundred Miles West j then surely he must die, because he was, 
and had the Character of a honest Man, a good Christian, and a 
brave Tradesman. But to be short, I could say a great deal 
more of him, being immediately acquainted with him, and was 
with him to the very last. Being brought to the Place of Exe- 
cution, he was the last Man except one executed, and he behaved 
himself, whilst the rest were executing, with great Zeal ; and 
lifting up his Hands and Eyes, would often say, Lord, make me 
so willing and ready to the last. And God did hear his Prayers; 
for though he seemed to the Spectators to be somewhat unwilling 
to die, yet at the last he died with as much Assurance and Chris- 
tian Resolution as any ; for after his publick Prayer he came once 
down the Ladder, and prayed again privately, then mounted the 
Ladder again ; the Sheriff saying, Mr. Madders, If you please 
you may have more Liberty; he answered, No, I thank you, 
Mr. Sheriff, now I am ready, I ain willing, and desire to be 
dissolved, and to be with Christ. Oh ! you cannot imagine 
what Comfort and Refreshment I have received in a few Minutesj 
my Co7nforts are so great that I cannot contain my self. So 
blessing and praising of God, he was translated, as I hope (we 
have no Grounds to imagine the contrary) from Earth to Heaven, 
repeating Rev. 20. 6, Blessed and holy is he that hath Part in the 
first Resurrection, on such the Second Death hath no Power. His 
publick Prayer was as followeth : 

O Eternal and ever blessed Lord God, look down upon me a 
miserable Sinner with an Eye of Pity and Compassion, in and 
through my dear Redeemer the Lord Jesus Christ. O Lord, 



224 ^I)* %&t&mn Cransacttong* 

I acknowledge my self a great and grievous Sinner ; I have 
sinned against the clearest Light and the dearest Love ; I have 
deserved to have have been spurned from thy Presence, and from 
the Glory of thy Power, and that thou shouldest now say unto 
me, I will have no more to do with such an unworthy Wretch, 
such a polluted, filthy Creature as thou art, and hast been : But, 
O Lord, there is Mercy with thee that thou mayest be feared ; 
and thou hast promised, that if a Sinner turn from his Wick- 
edness, thou wilt have Mercy on him ; and tho' his Sins were 
as Scarlet, thou wouldest make them white as Wool : Fulfil, 
O Lord, thy gracious Promise unto me, a poor Supplicant, in 
this my last Hour of my Life ; purge and cleanse me from all 
Sin and Filthiness, give me true Repentance ; and if there lyeth 
any Sin not yet repented of, O Lord, thou hast heard my 
Prayers, my Sighs and Groans ; I hope and trust thou hast 
pardoned all my Sins, and wilt immediately receive my Soul. 
Look down in Mercy on my dear Wife and Family, be thou a. y 
Comfort, and all in all unto them. Now, Lord, I am coming to 
thee, assist me to the last Moment ; comfort my distressed Soul ; 
do more for me than I am able to ask for, or think of ; but what 
thou knowest to be needful and necessary for me, in and through 
the Merits of my dear Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom 
with thee and thy blessed Spirit of Grace be ascribed the King- 
dom, the Power, and the Glory for ever and ever. Amen. 



The Dying-words of Capt. Kidd, Executed at the 
same Time and Place. 

This Gentleman was the last executed at that Time ; as soon 
as Captain Madders was turned off, he began to prepare to 
follow, and called to his Guards and those present, Do you see 
this i (pointing up to Eleven that were dead before him) Do you 
think this is not dreadful to me, that Eleven of Twelve of us, 
that but a few Hours since came down together, are dead and in 
Eternity? And I am just going to follow them, and shall im- 
mediately be in the same Condition. Says one to him, It must 



2Dr- temple* 225 

be dreadful to Flesh and Blood. Says he, Well, Gentlemen, I 
will assure you, I am so far concerned, that methinks I bethink 
their Happiness, that they shouldbe so long before me in Bliss and 
Happiness : But Pit make haste to follow j I am satisfied this 
is the best Day that ever I saw : The Day of a Man's Death is said 
to be better than the Day of his Birth : And truly so I find it as 
to my Flesh, And I shall be presently free from Sin and Sorrow ; 
I am satisfied God hath done his best for me : I might have lived 
and have forgotten God, but now I am going where I shall sin 
no more : 'Tis a blessed Thing to be free from Sin, and to be 
with Christ : O how great were the Sufferings of Christ for us y 
beyond all that I can undergo / How great is that Glory to 
which I am going ! Then taking his Leave of the People then 
present, he prayed some small Time very devoutly, and with seem- 
ing great Joy and Comfort ; and the Executioner did his Office. 
There was executed also at the same Time divers others, as 
Mr. William Hewling, Dr. Temple, Mr. Matthews, with some 
others. 



The Last Speech of Dr. Temple of Nottingham, at the 
Place of Execution. 

Doctor Temple was one of them that Landed with the Duke, 
and was his Chief Physician and Chyrurgeon ; he lived in Not- 
tingham, but minding to see others of the World, (as I have 
heard) goes for Holland, where he came acquainted with the 
Duke of Monmouth j concerning which he thus spoke, just as he 
was going off the Ladder. 

Christian Friends, and Dear Countrymen, 

I have somewhat to say, and not very much, before I depart 
from you, and shall be seen no more, And, 

First, As to my Engagement with the Duke of Momnouth. 

Secondly, How far I was concerned : And, 

Thirdly, I shall leave all of you to be Judges in Matter of Fact : 
And so for the 

First, As a dying Man I now declare, that when I entred my 
self with the Duke of Monmouth, to be his Chyrurgeon, it was on 

Q 



226 %ty aaiegtern ^rangacttong* 

no other Account but to serve him in the West-Indies ; where I 
knew no other Design whatsoever, but to possess himself of some 
of those Islands, until I had been at Sea two Days, wherein one 
privately told me, We are absolutely bound for England, and I 
should take it from him it was true : It much surprized me, 
but knowing no Way to avoid it, or to get on Shoar, thougn it 
was at that Time contrary to my Inclinations, if I could have 
avoided it, I would not let others see that I had that Dissatisfac- 
tion witKin me. After our Landing at Lyme, I knew it was never the 
nearer to attempt my Escape, the Country being so beset ; on the 
other Hand, if the Duke of Monmouth did win the Day, I might 
have raised my Fortunes as high as I could expect : These 
were the Arguments that Flesh and Blood did create in my Breast 
for Self-preservation. While I was with the said Duke, I did 
him as much Service as I could, and faithfully : After it pleased 
God to disperse that Army under his Command, I endeavoured 
to secure my self, but by Providence was taken at Honiton, from 
thence committed to Exon, and after removed to Dorchester, 
where I received my Sentence, and am now, as you see, just 
going to Execution : The Lord prevent all of you from such 
ignominious Deaths ; and I advise you all, that you never take 
any great Thing in Hand, but what you have a Warrant for 
from the Lord : I assure you I had no Satisfaction in this ; but 
this I am sure, that if I have done anything amiss in it, it is 
pardoned : I bless God I have that satisfaction, I die a Professor 
of the Church of England, I desire Pardon of all those I have 
any ways wronged or abused, as I freely forgive all those that have 
wronged or abused me ; I am in Charity with all Men. Lord, 
have Mercy upon me, give me Strength to go through these 
Pains, and give me full Assurance now at this last Moment : 
Come Lord Jesus, come quickly. 

Also one Samuel Robbins of Charmouth in the County of 
Dorset, that was executed, or rather murthered, at Warham, in 
the said County : I cannot pass him by in Silence, his Case 
being so extraordinary hard, that to speak moderately betwixt 
the King and his Case, I do say this, that I verily believe never 
Man suffered innocenter ; as I hope you will be satisfied in, 
after you have heard his Crime, and on what small Grounds 
he was found guilty, or so supposed, by my Lord Chief Justice. 



9$r* Cljarleg »>peafie^ 227 

He used generally in the Summer to use the Craft of Fishing, 
to get a competent Maintenance for his Family, and happened to 
be out at Sea a-fishing before Lyme that Day the Duke came 
in to land ; and was commanded on Board one of the Duke's 
Ships, he not knowing who they were, and they bought his Fish 
of him ; after which they told him that was the Duke of Mon- 
mouth, pointing at him, and that he was just going to Land : He 
desired to go on Shoar, which was refused, and told, that as 
soon as the Duke was landed he should have his Liberty ; so ac- 
cordingly he came on Shoar, and was never after with him, or ever 
took up Arms under him : I leave the Reader to judge whether 
this was High-Treason or no. This was all he was guilty of, 
except that he was a good honest Man, a zealous Christian, a Man 
of a very good Life and Conversation, as I think his Neighbours 
will attest it, in most Towns and Parishes where he lived : But 
alas he had a good Book in his House when taken, caird, The 
solemn League and Covenant; this was the High-Treason he 
must be guilty of, which was aggravated to the Lord Chief 
Justice, by one or two hot Spirits his Neighbours. But to be 
short, he received Sentence of Death with great Courage, and 
not at all dismayed, saying very often in Prison before, If it 
pleased God to call him now (to glorifie his Name by this Pro- 
vidence of his) to Death , he should be ready j but (said he) / am 
as Innocent of any thing I have done against any Man that may 
deserve this Punishment as the Child now unborn. When he 
came to the Place of Execution, he very chearfully declared his 
Innocency to the Spectators, as before, and so praying very 
devoutly for some Time, he was executed : His Prayer I have no 
exact Copy of. 

Also one Mr. Charles Sfteake oi London, a Gentleman of good 
Extraction, being Son to the Worshipful George Sfieake, Esq ; 
near Illminster in the County of Somerset, where he was executed : 
His Case also was extraordinary hard ; but there may be two 
great Reasons given why he was executed ; the first was, Because 
he came from that good Pious Family, which always have been 
Opposers to Popery, and suffered deeply for their Courage that 
Way. Secondly, The said Mr. Charles Speake had purchased 
some great Place in the King's Bench or Common Pleas, which 
was very profitable to him ; so that by his Fall there being a 

Q2 



228 W$z H&t&mn r &vanmtion&. 

Forfeiture, much Money may be made of it ; all Intercession 
could not avail with the L. C. J. for his Life. He happened to 
be at Ilhninster at the Time of the Duke's being there, which was 
the greatest Crime he was guilty of; the Validity of his Evidence 
I leave to those in the West, which know how far it was carried 
that Way. He was a fine courteous loving Gentleman ; and not- 
withstanding his Youth, he acted the Part of an old Christian 
Soldier at his Death, preparing himself to undergo those Pains, 
saying very often, They were nothing to his Deserts from God 
Almighty ; but as for what I am accused of, and sentenced for, 
I hope you will believe I am not so guilty as my Judge and Ac- 
cusers have endeavoured to make me : If it had pleased God, I 
should have been willing to have lived some Time longer, but 
God's Time being come, I am willing, I will be contented to 
drink this bitter Cup off. Being at the Place of Execution, the 
Crowd was so great, that I suppose he was shorter than other- 
wise he would have been ; but alas ! How could it be ? For on 
every Side of him, as well as up and down the Town, the Inha- 
bitants were weeping and bewailing : Oh 'tis the worst Day 
that ever we saw in this Town I Must this good Gentleman die 
here f Oh yet save his Life, I am ready to die for him / And 
the like. He prayed very heartily for near an Hour, and sung a 
Psalm, and so we hope was translated to Heaven, there to sing 
everlasting Praises and Hallelujahs. His Father and Mother 
you may easily judge were not a little concerned about him ; but 
their Adversaries Malice ended not here, but Father and Mother 
must be brought in, and how many Thousands of Pounds it cost 
them, I think is too well known in London j and most Parts of 
the Kingdom have heard in the Publick Letters their Names 
mentioned. Some may think they were concerned with the 
Duke, but I never heard there was so much made appear against 
them, as could have made them been brought in guilty of High 
Misdemeanors : Had not the good Gentleman and his Lady 
been Vertuous People, abhorring the Debaucheries of the Times, 
and so much a competent Estate, able to spare Ten or Twelve 
Thousand Pounds ; the hard Usage this honest brave Gentleman 
and his vertuous Lady had, and their Sufferings, to relate them, 
would be too large ; and besides, it is so well known in most 
Places in the West, that I shall, without saying any more, proceed. 



9$r* %nrp Bottom 229 

And next for Mr. P arret, who was executed at Taunton; if I 
mistake not, he said he was a Londoner, and a Brewer. When 
he came to the Place of Execution, he seemed a Man almost un- 
concerned at Death. After some Time he began to deliver 
himself somewhat low in Voice to the People, and after rising by 
Degrees, he seemed more like a Minister in a Pulpit Preaching 
devoutly, than a Prisoner just going to Execution ; but I being 
then not well, could not tarry to see his End. But the Character 
I had, was, That he desired all not to be faint-hearted because of 
their Fall, and to think that there was no hopes remaining. 
He said, He verily believed God would yet work out Deliverance 
for them, and at the Time they were in the greatest Extremity, 
that would be God's Opportunity. Put your whole Trust and 
Confidence and Dependence on the Lord, and he will never 
leave you, nor forsake you. And much more ; but having 
no more exact Copy, I shall not enlarge, but come to some 
other. 



The Last Speech of Henry Boddy, Executed at Bath. 

While he was in Prison, especially after Sentence, he behaved 
himself mighty humble, meek, and was much in Meditation, 
which was observed by several Divines, especially one, who at- 
tended him to his last, his Name Mr. Simpson. His poor Wife 
coming to see him at Wells, and to make her Interest with some 
Friends, if possible to save his Life ; but finding it lost Labour, 
and that she could by no Means prevail, she died there for Grief 
before her Husband was executed, to his great Grief. When he 
came to the Place of Execution, he delivered himself to the People 
in these Words : 

Good People, I am come here to pay a Debt due to Nature, 
which every one, one time or another, must pay, though not in 
this Manner or Nature. I am condemned as a Traitor and 
Rebel against my King, which were Things I always hated and 
abhorred ; and therefore give me so much Time as to deliver 
my self to you ; and what I say I hope you will believe me at 
this Time, being just going to give an Account, not only for 
every idle Word, but for all Things I have done since I have 
had a Being. 



230 %ty Mt&ttvn Ixangacttong* 

/ was born in Lyme Regis in the County of Dorset, and bred 
up a Seaman from my Infancy; I have had the honour to serve 
his Majesty King Charles the Second, in his Wars with the 
Dutch and French, divers Times, I always thought it to be the 
Duty of every true English-man to stand up in his Country's ( 
Quarrel with Foreigners, to maintain our ancient Priviledges 
and Honour of our Nation. I served him faithfully : And as 
for any Undertaking now with the late Duke #/" Monmouth, for 
which 1 am now come to suffer Death; as for my Designs, I am 
sure they were good, for I did believe him to be my Soveraigrts 
Son and Heir; but if otherwise, I have done amiss, and am sorry, 
and hope the Lord hath pardoned it. While I was in Arms, 
I am sure there's none can say I have personally wronged them, 
I desire all yonr Prayers for me to the last. I am no Orator, 
therefore if you please (speaking to the Minister) do these last 
Spiritual Services for me, as for to pray with me, and for me. 
The Minister being much taken with him, desired Leave of the 
Sheriff to ask him some Questions ; which being granted, the 
Minister said unto him, / must inake bold with you, but not to 
hold you too long before I pray, but to satisfe my self and the 
People on what Ground you stand; I mean as concerning your 
everlasting State, Now pray resolve me a few Things : First, 
Whether you do own that Doctrine of Non-resistance, own y d by 
the Church, That it is not lawful on any Account whatsoever, 
to take up Arms against the King? O Sir ! As to that I answer, 
Could I have been satisfied he had been my lawful Prince, I 
should not have done it. But, said the Minister, he is, and you 
are not to be Judge; except you own those Things, some People 
will hardly have Charity for you after you are dead. What 
matters that, said he ? Would you have me, now you put me so 
close to it, to lie ? No, I will not. I say, if he was my lawful 
King, I was misled in my Judgment, and have committed a great 
Error ; but, Lord, I hope thou hast washed away all my Sins, in 
and through the Blood of my dear Redeemer, in whose alone 
Merits I hope for Mercy. I desire to be asked no more Questions. 
Then the Minister prayed very devoutly near half an Hour; after 
which, lifting up his Hands and Eyes to Heaven, he quietly 
submitted to Death. 



9t£r* 3Iofm i?fc&& 231 

Mr. John Hick's Last Speech, 1685. 

I suppose the Spectators here present may expect I should 
speak something before I leave this sanguinary Stage and Pas- 
sage through my Bloody Sufferings, by which my immortal Spirit 
will be speedily transported into an invisible and eternal World, 
and I conclude that they have different Resentments hereof. 
Some resent them with much Joy, high Exultation and Triumph, 
others with equal Grief and Sorrow ; that to the one I am a 
most pleasant Spectacle, that they behold me with high Com- 
placency and Delight ; but to the other I am a mournful and un- 
pleasant one, and they behold me with no less Pity and Com- 
passion. Concerning the first, I can say, I freely and heartily 
forgive them, and heartily pray that God would most mercifully 
and graciously prevent their Mourning through Misery, not 
only here, but eternally hereafter. Concerning the other, I 
will say, Weep for your own Sins, and for the Sins of the 
Nation, for the highest Rebellions that ever were committed 
against the Great and Eternal God ; lament bitterly for those 
Sins that have been the meritorious Cause of the late terrible 
Judgment, that which I fear will cause God to break in upon this 
Nation with an overflowing Deluge of Judgments, which are far 
more tremendous and dreadful. As for sympathizing with me, 
in drinking this bitter Cup appointed for me, I return you most 
humble and hearty Thanks, earnestly desiring God to come unto 
you, and fill your Souls with all Celestial Comforts and Spiritual 
Consolations. Something I must say to purge and clear my self 
from a false Accusation laid to my Charge ; as that I was en- 
gaged with Colonel Blood in rescuing Col. Mason near Boston, 
when he was sent down with a Guard from London to York, to 
be tried for High-Treason ; and that I was the Man that killed 
the Barber of that City ; and that also I was with him when he 
stole the Crown. Now as I am a dying Man, and upon the very 
Brink of a very stupendious Eternity, (the Truth and Reality 
whereof I firmly believe) without any Reservation or the least 
Equivocation, I do declare in the Presence of the All seeing God, 
that impartial Judge, before whom in a very little Time I must 
appear, I never saw nor conversed with Mr. Thomas Blood, from 



23a %^z WLtmvn %vanmtion&+ 

1656, till after he stole the Crown, which was in 71 or 72, nor 
was ever engaged with him in any of his Treasonable Plots or 
Practices. 'Tis true, I being involved in great Trouble of an- 
other Nature, (of which I have given to the World a Narrative, 
and which is notoriously known in the Country where I then 
lived, by some that were Enemies to me for my Preaching) I was 
persuaded to apply my self to Mr. Blood, to procure by his 
Intercession his late Majesty's gracious Favour : Accordingly he 
brought me into his Royal Presence ; while I was there, his 
Majesty carried it with great Clemency, without expressing 
one Word of that which I am now charged with. Mr. Blood 
continued with his Majesty a little longer than I did ; then he 
told me that he had granted me a Pardon, which I did thank- 
fully accept of, knowing it would free me from all Penalties 
and Troubles that I was obnoxious to, and were occasioned to 
me by my Non-conformity. Then engaging him to take out my 
Pardon ; he told me, That he got it o?tt with several others that 
had been engaged with him in several Treasonable Designs 
and Actions j at which I was troubled, supposing it might be im- 
puted to me thereby ; yet, God knows, I have often since re- 
flected upon it with great Regret and Dissatisfaction. If Mr. 
Blood did inform the late King to make himself the more consi- 
derable, and to bring as many of his Party as he could to accept 
of their Pardons, that he might be rendered utterly incapable of 
Plotting any further Mischief against his Government, or any 
otherways that I was engaged with him in any of his Treasonable 
Attempts ; I now appeal to God, as a dying Man, concerning it, 
that he hath done me an irreparable Wrong. I also in the same 
Manner do declare, that I was never ingaged with any Party in 
Plotting or Designing, or Contriving any Treason or Rebellion 
against the late King, and particularly, that I was altogether 
unconcerned in, and unacquainted with that for which my Lord 
Russel and others suffered, and as much a Stranger to any 
against the present King. And whereas it is reported of me, 
That at Taunton / persuaded the late Duke of Monmouth to 
assume the Title of King; I do once more solemnly declare, 
That I saw not the said Duke, nor had any Converse with him 
'till he came to Shipton-Mallet, which was thirteen Days after 
he landed, and several Days after he had been at Taunton, And 



2t£r> 3]of)n ^tcfegf. 233 

'tis as false that I rid to and fro in the West to stir up and per- 
suade Men to go into his Army, and rebel against his present 
Majesty ; for I was in the East-Country when the Duke landed, 
and from thence I went directly to him, when he was at Shipton- 
Mallet, not one Man accompanying me from thence. But 
hitherto as I lived, so now I die, owning and professing the true 
Reformed Christian (commonly called the Protestant) Religion, 
which is founded on the pure written Word of God only, and 
which I acknowledge likewise to be comprehended in the Articles 
of the Doctrine of the Church. This Religion I have made a 
reasonable and free Choice of, and have heartily embraced, not 
only as it protests against all Pagan and Mahometan Religion, 
but against the Corruption of the Christian ; and I humbly and 
earnestly pray to God that by his Infinite Wisdom and Almighty 
Power, he will prevent not only the utter Extirpation but Dimi- 
nution thereof, by the Heighth and Influence of what is con- 
trary thereto ; and for that End the Lord make the Professors of 
it to live up more to its Principles and Rules, and bring their 
Hearts and Conversations more under the Government and 
Power of the same. I die also owning my Ministry, Non- 
conformity, for which I have suffer'd so much, and which doth 
now obstruct the King's Grace and Mercy to be manifested and 
extended to me : For as I chose it not constrainedly, so I 
appeal to God as a dying Man, not moved from Sullenness 
or Humour, or factious Temper, or erroneous Principles of Edu- 
cation, or from secular Interests, or worldly Advantages, but 
clearly from the Dictates of my own Conscience, and as I judged 
it to be the Cause of God, and to have more of Divine Truth in 
it than that which is contrary thereto ; so now I see no Cause to 
repent of it, nor to recede from it ; not questioning but God will 
own it at the last Judgment-day. If no more had been required 
after the late King's Restauration to qualifie Ministers for Publick 
Preaching, than was after the first Restauration from the Time 
of Charles the First, probably I might have satisfied my self 
therewith, and not scrupled Conformity thereto ; but the Terms 
and Conditions thereof, by a particular Law made in 1662, being 
not only new, but so strict and severe, that I could never have 
Satisfaction in my own Conscience, after all Endeavours used for 
a Compliance therewith, and a Conformity thereto : To say 



234 ^z Mtmvn tCrangaction^ 

nothing of the Covenant, which I never took, but the giving my 
Assent and Consent, have been too difficult and hard for me to 
comply with. And I very well remember, that about Fourteen 
Years ago, entring into a Discourse with Mr. Patrick Heldore, 
an Irish-man, who was contemporary with me in Dublin, concern- 
ing Conformity, which he much endeavour'd to persuade me to ; 
I urg*d the Severity of the foremention'd Conditions against it, 
and after some Debates and Reasons with him, I told him I did 
believe they were contrived and designed on Purpose to prevent 
our Publick Preaching, and to keep us out of the Church : To 
which he Ingenuously replied. He judged it was so : For, said he, 
a Bishop in Ireland {whose Name I have forgot) told me the 
very same. 

But though I could not wade through, and conquer this Diffi- 
culty, yet I censure not those that did it ; and I believe after all 
the hottest Disputes, and most vehement Debates, and violent 
contests between Conformist and Non-conformist, there are of 
both Parties will be glorified in Heaven hereafter. According 
to the 29th Article of the Church of England, a visible Church 
is a Congregation of Faithful Men, in the which the pure Word 
of God is Preached, the Sacraments of the Lord duly admi- 
nistred, according to Christ's Ordinance, and all those Things 
that of Necessity are requisite and necessary to Salvation ; so 
with such a Church have I held the most intimate Communion, 
and with such (did I live) could hold it : I would not therefore 
be so incorporated with any Church, as to exclude me from, 
and render me incapable of holding Communion with other 
Churches ; I was never strongly bound up to any Form of 
Ecclesiastical Government, but that under which a pure and 
undefiled Religion doth flourish, and that which contains and 
really practises Holiness, and advances the Kingdom of God in 
the World, that can I approve of, and willingly live under, were 
I to live. 

I did approve of the ancient and present Form of Civil Go- 
vernment, English Monarchy I am fully satisfied with, and do 
also declare, that it is not warrantable, for any Subject to take 
up Arms against, and resist their Lawful Soveraigns and Rightful 
Princes : And therefore had I not been convinced by several 
Things that I have read and heard, to believe that the late Duke 



9£r* 3Jof)n ^fcfe^ 235 

of Monmouth was the Legitimate Son of his Father Charles the 
Second, I had never gone into his Army, judging that without 
this I could not be freed from the Guilt of Rebellion, which I 
always resolved to keep my self clear from : And tho ? his Father 
denied he was married to his Mother, I thought it might be 
answered with this ; That Kings and Princes, for State-Reasons, 
often cannot be fathomed by their Subjects, affirming and deny- 
ings Thing which otherwise they would not do, and make even 
their natural Affections to truckle and stoop thereto. I exhort 
all to abhor all Treasonable Plots, and Pretences of all Rebellion, 
with the highest Detestation, and to take the plain Text of Sacred 
Scripture to walk by, in honouring and obeying, and living 
in Subjection to Rightful Kings, and not readily to receive, or 
suddenly to be impressed with evil Reports and Defamations of 
them, also not rashly to be Propagators of the same. 

I desire God to forgive all mine Enemies, and to give me an 
Heart to forgive them, which are many, some mighty, and all 
most malicious : Particularly Barter of Lisnel, who betrayed me, 
and proved such a Traitor to James D. of Monmouth, his old 
and intimate Friend. I am grievously afflicted that I should 
prove the Occasion of the great Sufferings of so many Persons 
and Families : But this hath fallen under the Just and Wise 
Ordering of Divine Providence, as David 's going to Abimelech, 
when he proved the Occasion of the Death of all the Persons, 
Men, Women, and Children in the City : But who shall say unto 
God, What doest thou f The Care of my most dear Wife and a 
great many Children, I cast upon God, who I hope will be better 
than the best of Husbands unto her, and the best of Fathers 
unto them : God knows how just and legal Right my Wife hath 
unto her Estate ; to him therefore I commit her, to defend her 
from the Violence and Oppression of Men, particularly from a 
most inhumane and unnatural Brother : But no Wonder if he will 
lay violent Hands upon his Sister's Estate, that hath so often 
laid them on his own Father. I die a deeply humbled, self- 
judging, and self-condemning Sinner, loathing and abhorring 
my many and great Iniquities, and my self for them, earnestly 
desiring full Redemption from the Bonds of Corruption, under 
which I have groaned so many Years, longing for a most perfect 
Conformity to the most Holy and Glorious God, the only infinite 



236 <Q%t H&mtvn Crangactiong* 

pure Being ; thirsting for a perfect Diffusion of his Grace through 
all the Powers and Faculties of my Soul, panting after perfect 
Spiritual Life and Liberty, and a consummate Love to my 
•dearest Jesus, who is an All-comprehensive Good, and to be 
satisfied with his Love for ever : A vigorous and vehement Zeal 
for the Protestant Religion, with a Belief I had of the Duke's 
Legitimacy, hath involved me in this ignominious Death ; yet 
blessed be God, that by sincere Repentance and true Faith in 
the Blodd of Jesus, there is Passage from it to a glorious eternal 
Life, and from these bitter Sorrows to the Fulness of sweetest 
Joys that are in his Presence, and from these sharp bodily Pains 
to those most pure Pleasures, that are at his Right Hand for 
evermore : And blessed be God, that such a Death as this cannot 
prevent and hinder Christ's changing of my vile Body, and 
fashioning it like his Glorious Body, in the general Resurrection- 
Day. 

I am now going into that World, where many dark Things 
shall be made perfectly manifest and clear, and many doubtful 
Things fully resolved, and a plenary Satisfaction given concern- 
ing them ; all Disputes and Mistakes concerning Treason, Re- 
bellion, and Schism, shall be at an End, and cease for ever ; 
Many Things that are innocent, lawful, and laudable, which 
have foul Marks and black Characters stampt and fixt upon 'em 
here, they shall be perfectly purified and fully cleansed from 
there ; where at one View more shall be known of them, than 
by all wrangling Debates and eager Disputes, or by reading all 
Polemical Books concerning them here. I greatly deplore and 
bewail the greedy Appetite and insatiable Thirst, that Professing 
Protestants have after the Blood of their Brethren, and the high 
Pleasure they take in the Effusion thereof. But what will not 
Men do, when they are either judicially blinded, or their secular 
worldly Interest insensibly insinuates and winds it self into their 
Religion, is so twisted and incorporated with it, that it animates 
and acts it, is the Life and Soul, the vital Form and Power, and 
made wholly subservient thereunto ? 

I bless God for all my Sufferings, and particularly for this 
last ; for the Benefit and Fruit of it, by God's sanctifiying ot 
them to me, have been great ; hereby I have been effectually 
convinced of the Vanity of the World, and my own Sinfulness 



9$r* 3fofjn t?fcfe& 237 

by Nature and Practice, and to see that to be Sin which I never 
saw before ; and to be more throughly humbled for what I 
know to be sin, not only of Commission, but of Omission also ; 
Hereby I have been brought to a more thorough, deep, inward 
Sense and Feeling of the absolute Necessity of the Right- 
eousness of Christ to justifie me, and he hath been made much 
more dear and precious to my Soul, than ever he was before. 
Hereby my Soul hath been more refin'd, from the Dross of Sen- 
suality, wrought into a more Heavenly Frame, raised up to a 
higher Pitch of Spirituality ; hereby I am made more meek and 
humble, and so judge more charitably of others that differ 
from me in Opinion and Judgment ; So that by God's most 
Righteous Judgment I have been apprehended, and most justly 
and deservedly undergo this Suffering for my Sins, yet I hope 
they have wrought for me a far more exceeding and eternal 
Weight of Glory, fitting and preparing me, making me a better 
qualified Subject for, and far more meet to be a Partaker of 
the same. By the Grace and Strength of God, I will not 
purchase my Life by the Death and Blood of my Protestant 
Brethren, but chuse to die rather than be a Betrayer of them ; 
the impetuous and violent Assault of this I dreaded more than 
Death it self. Blessed be God I was not exposed unto it, and 
conquered by it, as some have been : Having such full bodily 
Vigour and Strength, being in such perfect Health, notwithstand- 
ing my Age, predominating in me, it hath made it more difficult 
to die, than if I had been clogged and incumbered with infirmi- 
ties, made to bow and stoop under them by prevailing Diseases 
and Distempers, gradually worn out therewith, which many 
Times makes Men weary of Life, and to desire to die ; and this 
in Conjunction with many Things, (which I forbear to mention) 
highly gratifying and pleasing to Sense, which I must leave for 
ever, strengthens and heightens the Difficulty, and begets a 
greater Regret and Reluctancy in my Will, to have the Earthly 
Tabernacle of my Body dissolved, and my Soul to dislodge and 
quit the same. But now when the black and gloomy Shades of 
Death do overspread me, I can say, to the Glory of God's most 
Free and Powerful Grace, True Faith in some Measure hath 
changed the Difficulty into a Facility and Easiness of Dying : 
It hath very much subdued the Reluctancy of my Will against it ; 



238 W$z Wlt&mn tongacttong* 

for it makes future Things present, and invisible Things visible, 
and doth realise and substantiate the same to me ; and as by it 
I penetrate and pierce into Eternity, and behold invisible and 
immortal Things, so hereby, blessed be God, I have obtained a 
greater Victory over Sense : The World is crucified to me, and I 
to the World, and all the most pleasant and delightful Objects 
therein, all finite, fading Creatures, Comforts and Enjoyments, 
are become minute and small, despicable and contemptible to 
me, in Comparison thereof, being infinitely contained and com- 
prehended therein : Shall my Soul clasp and cling about these 
mortal and perishing Things ? Shall it cleave and be glued to 
them ? Shall it be confined and captivated into what is kept in 
the narrow Bounds of Time, and in this lower World ? Shall it 
earnestly desire and thirst for muddy Streams, yea Rivers of 
Flesh-pleasing Good ; when by an Eye of Faith I can look into 
the indeficient, inexhaustible, purest Fountain ; the immense, 
immensurate Ocean of Divine Good ; hoping to drink thereof, 
to swim and bathe my Soul therein for ever and ever ? And 
when I consider how long my Ears have been bound up, and 
tied to their innumerable and horrid Oaths, and cursed Blas- 
phemies, and mine Eyes to see the Prophanation of the Day of 
God; and when I beheld such an overflowing Flood of most 
prodigious Impiety, such an Inundation of most monstrous 
Iniquity, so much Hell upon Earth, and that there is so much 
Decay of holy Zeal, and true Piety, and Christian Religion, 
amongst the Professors of it, such seeming incurable Breaches 
and Divisions, such expiring Love, and Charity, and Partings 
among 'em ; it hath powerful Influence on my Soul to reconcile 
it more to Death, and makes it electively, and from Choice, to leave 
this present World, and to take up my Abode in that which is 
unseen and future, where there shall be nothing but perfect Love 
and Holiness ; a sinless State, and serving God with all Un- 
weariedness and Perfection, with the highest Complacency and 
Delight that immortal Souls can be capable of : There is perfect 
Peace and Concord, the innumerable Company of Angels, and 
the Spirits of Just Men made perfect, all fastned together with 
indissolvable and uninterrupted Chains of most pure Love, and 
all continually wrapt up in, and transported with the highest 
Admiration of God's Love, his infinite and incomprehensible 



9t£r. 3|of)n Itcfeg* 239 

Excellencies and Perfections, singing Hallelujahs to him without 
ceasing and triumphing in his Praise for ever and ever. The Con- 
sideration also, that I know so little of these sublime, profound 
and Divine Mysteries ; of the most glorious Mystery of Salvation 
by Jesus Christ ; that I am so uncapable to fathom the Depth of 
the Providences of God, whose ways are in the Sea, and whose Paths 
are in the deep Waters, and whose Footsteps are not known, and 
particularly in the late stupendious and amazing one ; and that 
I am so ignorant of the Nature of Angels and Spirits, with their 
Offices and Operations, and of their high and glorious Excellen- 
cies ; and that I am so little acquainted with the Nature of my 
own Soul, as at present dwelling in, and united to my Body, and 
as disunited and separated from it ; how without corporeal 
Organs it shall most vivaciously and vigorously perform all its 
proper Functions and Offices, and more than ever strongly and 
indefatigably serve the Lord Jesus, most fervently and abun- 
dantly love him, and delight in him every way, much more 
obtain the supream and highest End of its Creation and Being ; 
and this makes me much more willing to die, that I may have 
the Knowledge thereof, with innumerable other Things ; that I 
am now either ignorant of, or do but imperfectly know, and so 
be made happy by a Plenitude of Fulness of injoying intellectual 
Pleasures, which are of all other most suitable, sweet, and satis- 
factory to immortal Souls. And also I see that he that departs 
from Iniquity makes himself a Prey ; and so many plunging 
themselves into the Ways of Iniquity, lest they should be ac- 
counted odious and vile, which makes them so much degenerate 
not only from Christianity, but from Humanity it self, as if they 
were scarce the Excrement of either ; contemning even that 
most Noble, Generous, Heroick Spirit that dwelt in many 
Heathens, who accounted it most Honourable and Glorious to 
contend for their Rights and Liberties, yea, to suffer Death, and 
the worst of Deaths, in Defence of the same ; and judge them 
accursed and most execrable in the World that do so ; and not 
only so, but for their own Profit and Advantage, have many of 
them inslaved their Posterity by it, and are most industrious and 
laborious, most fierce and furious to destroy them, whereby they 
are become as unnatural as Children that seek the Ruin of their 
Parents that begot them, and brought them forth ; or them that lay 



240 %^t ftOlesstem ^ransfacttongu 

violent Hands upon themselves, dashing out their own Brains, 
cutting their own Throats, hanging and drawing themselves, rip- 
ping up their own Bellies, tearing out their own Bowels, they being 
in different Senses Children and Members of that Body Politick 
theydesign and attempt the Destruction of; and when I know n,ot 
how longthe Duration and Continuance of these Things shall be, 
or a Conclusion or End by God shall be put thereto, who by Divine 
and Unerring Wisdom governs the World ; why shall my Soul 
be unwilling to take its Flight into the unseen and eternal 
World ? Where no sullied, sordid, or impious Thing, most 
incongruous and unbecoming Nature, shall be seen and found, 
and where I shall behold no narrow, conclusive, contracted 
Soul there, habitually preferring their private before a Publick 
Good, but all most unanimously and equally center in one com- 
mon, universal Good, and where the Sighs, and Groans, and 
Cries of the Afflicted and Persecuted shall be heard no more for 
ever. 

I earnestly exhort all most highly to prize and value Time, 
and diligently improve it for Eternity ; to be Wise, seriously and 
seasonably to consider of their latter End : For by the irre- 
peatable and irreversible Law of Heaven we must all die, yet 
we know not how, where, or when. Live with your Souls full of 
Solicitude and Care, with a most deep Concernedness and most 
diligent Industriousness, whilst you have Time and Opportunity, 
and the Means of Grace, Health, and Strength, make sure of 
these two great Things, viz. 

1. What merits for you a Right and Title to eternal Life and 
Glory, and the future unchangeable Blessedness, as the Re- 
deemer's most precious Blood and Righteousness ; that thereby 
a real Application and Imputation may be unto you by sincere 
Believing. 

2. That that which makes you qualified Subjects for it, is the 
great Work of Regeneration, wrought in your Souls, being re- 
newed in the Spirit of your Minds, the Divine Nature being 
imprest upon them, repairing of the depraved Image of God in 
you ; that being transformed into his own Likeness, thereby in 
the World you may mind and favour more the Things of the 
Spirit than the Things of the Flesh, Celestial and Heavenly more 
than Terrestrial and Earthly, superiour more than inferiour 



9t£r* 31otin Iktcftgf* 241 

Things : And therewith have a holy Life and Conversation 
conjoined, that results and springs from the same, as Fruit from 
the Root, and acts from the Habits. Let all, in Order thereto, 
seriously consider these few Texts of Sacred Scripture, let them 
predominately possess you ; let them be deeply and indelibly 
transcribed upon your Souls ; let them be assimilated thereun- 
to, and made the written Epistles, the lively Pictures thereof, 
Mat 5. 8, 20. Blessed be the pure in Heart, for they shall see 
God. Ver. 29. For I say unto yon, Except your Righteous- 
ness exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye 
shall in no Case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. John 3. 3. 
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto 
thee, except a Man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of 
God. 1 Cor. 6. 9, to, ii. Know ye not that the Unrighteous 
shall not inherit the Kingdom of God, dr^c. Gal. 5. 19, 20, to 
23. Now the Works of the Flesh are manifest, which are these. 
Adultery, &>c. James 1. 18. Of his own Will begat he us with 
the Word of Truth, that we should be a kind of First-fruits of 
his Creatures. 1 Pet. 1. 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant Mercy hath 
begotten us again to a lively Hope by the Resurrection of Jesus 
Christ. Ver. 13. Wherefore gird up the Loins of your Mind, 
S^c. Coloss. 3. 1,2. If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those 
Things that are above : Set your Affections on Things above, 
not, dr^c. Gal. 5. 24. And they that are Chris fs have crucified 
the Flesh with the Affections and Lusts, &>c. Eph. 2. 1. And 
you hath he quickned, who were dead in Trespasses and Sins. 
Rev. 20. 6. Blessed and holy is he that hath Part in the First 
Resurrection, on such the Second Death hath no Power. Rom. 
8. 1. There is therefore now no Condemnation, &>c. 1 Pet. 1. 
15. But as he that hath called you is holy, so be ye, &>c. Ver. 23. 
Being born again, not of corruptible Seed, &^c. Psal. 4. 3. 
But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is Godly for 
himself, dr^c. I shall mention now no more, the whole Bible 
abounds with these Texts, with what a Renovation and Change 
of our carnal and corrupt Hearts and Natures, there must be, 
with Holiness of Life and Conversation, before we can be 
capable of a future and blessed Immortality, and of inheriting 
the Kingdom of God for ever and ever. Amen. 

R 



242 ^Ije afllegtern ^rangacttorrgf* 

A Letter written by Mr. John Hicks, Octob. 5. the 
Day before his Death. 

My Dear Nephew- 
I am yet in the Land of the Living, though in the Mouth of 
Death ; \ have been concerned for you, next to my own Children ; 
before I die, I thought fit to write two or three lines to you, as 
a Manifestation of my great Love to you : I earnestly desire the 
Welfare of you here, and to Eternity hereafter ; next to my own 
Wife and Children, you will want me when I am gone ; but I 
hope the Lord will take Care of you ; make it your Business to 
walk with him, to serve him faithfully ; flee youthful Lusts, and 
Remember your Creator in. the Days of your Youth ; be deeply 
concern'd to have your Heart and Nature changed, and an 
Interest in Christ secured unto you. Death comes suddenly, 
you know not when, where, nor how you shall die : Let Time 
therefore be most precious to you ; fill it up with Work and 
Duty ; live by Faith more than by Sense ; and this will stand 
by you when you come to die: Seek the Things which are 
above, and set your Affections upon them ; have your Conver- 
sation in Heaven whilst you are upon Earth. When you see 
your Parents, give my dear Love to them and their children ; 
the Lord grant that we may meet in his everlasting Kingdom : 
When you see any of your Cousins, give my dear Love to them, 
and be not asham'd of my Sufferings. I wrote last Saturday 
was a Seven night to my Brother George, but whether he is at 
London or Worcester, I know not ; I wrote to him to desire 
him to Petition the King, that some Favour and Mercy might 
be shewed me, if he thought fit. Things that are made to 
aggravate my Crime, I am clear from ; as that I persuaded the 
Duke of Monmouth to assume the Title of King at Taunton, 
when I was not there with him, nor in thirteen Days after he 
came into England ; and that I rode to and fro in the West to 
persuade People to go into his Army, when I was in the East, 
and came from thence to him in the West ; but my Non-con- 
formity cuts me, and obstructs the King's Mercy from being 
extended to me, as I am told ; but the Will of the Lord be done ; 



S^r. 3|oljn ^tcfesf. 243 

the Life to come is infinitely better than this : Many more 
Things are laid to my Charge, which I am no more guilty of 
than your self. If your Uncle be in Town, go speedily to him, 
and give him my dear Love. I pray for you, who am 

Your most Affectionate Uncle, 
Octob. 5. 1685. " J. H. 

A Letter to his Wife, Septemb. 23. 1665. 

My Dearest Love, 

I hope you received a few Lines from me by the way of 
London ; once more I write to you, by our faithful and trusty 
Friend, W. D., who hath been at Exon. If there be need for it, 
he knows many of my dear and faithful Friends there, who wish 
you would come and live among them ; and if your Estate fail, 
I think it very advisable so to do ; I hope God will stand by 
you, and defend you : My Dear, see me in God, as I must you. 
I must now bid Adieu to all earthly and worldly Comforts, and 
all the pleasant and delightful Objects of Sense. I bless God 
for all present Mercies and Comforts hitherto I have had ; what 
will be after this Day I know not, but the Will of the Lord be 
done. 

My Dear, be very cautious not to speak one Word, lest it be 
wrested to a wrong Sense, which may ruin you ; I have not writ 
what I would of this Nature, take the Advice of Friends, and of 
what I send by our Friend. Olet not the everlasting Arms of God 
be withdrawn from you one Moment ; and let him strengthen 
you with all Might, according to his glorious Power, and to all 
Patience and Long-suffering, with Joy fulness ! Pray hard for 
victory over Passion, and be much in private Closet-Prayer 
with God; and often read the Holy Bible, and other good 
Books; the Lord continually guide, direct, and counsel you. 
My Dear, I return you a thousand Thanks for all the Love you 
have shown me and my Children, and particularly for the high 
and great Demonstration you have given hereof in this Day of 
my Distress. I hope my Daughters will be as dutiful to you, 
and be as much concerned for your Comfort and Welfare, as if 
you had travelled with them, and brought them into the World ; 

R 2 



244 ^f)* flfllegtern Crangacttongj* 

God bless my dear little Ones and them together, I shall die 
their most affectionate and praying Father ; God, I hope, will 
uphold, support, and comfort me at the last Hour, and enable 
me to overcome the Temptations I shall violently be assaulted 
with before I die. God by his infinite and freest Mercies, in 
Jesus Christ, pardon all the neglect of Relative Duties, (which 
I have bitterly lamented and bewailed before God, with all the 
Sins I am guilty of) for the Sake of our dearest Lord and 
Redeemer. The Lord make you grow in all Grace more than 
ever, and make this great Affliction so humbly purifying and 
spiritualizing to you as well as me, that it may work for us 
both a far more exceeding and eternal Weight of Glory. Let 
him take your Soul in his most dearest Embraces, and lodge it 
in the Bosom of his Love here, and make us to meet in the 
full and everlasting Fruition and Enjoyment of him hereafter. 
Though it be dangerous for you to vindicate that I die for, 
yet be not too much cast down for it : I will say no more as to 
that. My hearty and affectionate Respects to all my dear 
Friends ; I need not name them ; I hope to meet them with 
your self, to inherit Eternal Life, through the Merits of Christ's 
Death. Farewell, my Dear, fare well in the Lord, until we 
meet to be married to him for ever. My Heart is as full of 
Love to thee, as it was the first Day I married thee ; and if 
God spar'd my Life, it should have been as fully manifested 
until Death : Therefore I rest, 

Your most Affectionate and Endeared Husband, 
Septemb. 23. 1685. J. H. 



Another Letter. 

I received your Letter by Mr. Skinner ; I bless God that you 
and my Babes are well; the Lord continue their Lives to be a 
Blessing and Comfort to you, and enable you to see them well 
Educated in the Fear of God ; and when God takes me away, 
let him be a Husband to guide, direct, succour, comfort, and 
support you, and to lodge your Soul in the Bosom of his Love; 
and let him be a Father to them, and their Portion for ever. 
Monday last my Brother went to London to try what could be 



9$r. 3|oj)n l$itk&. 245 

done for me; what the Success will be, I know not : I desire the 
Lord every Day to prepare me for Death, and carry me above 
the Fear of it, by the Discoveries of his everlasting Love unto 
my Soul, and clearing up my Right and Title to everlasting 
Life ; and by sealing up to me the Pardon of all my Sins, 
through the most precious Blood of Jesus Christ. Let us pray 
hard and much for each other : When I leave this World, it 
shall be with Prayer for thee ; if God give me Life how shall I 
study to be a Comfort to thee, and to live up to my Marriage as 
well as Baptismal Covenant ! To all my Friends tender my 
affectionate Respects ; I hope their Prayers will one Way or other 
be heard for me ; let the Almighty be your Protector, Supporter, 
and Comforter. There be two Books I do recommend to 
you to read when you are retired, as well as in your family : 
Pierce's Preparation for Death, and Fox's Redemption of Time. 
Now let our Souls meet together in one most blessed God, in 
our dearest Jesus, and sweetest Saviour; let them clasp and 
cling about him, and be sick for the Love of him ; and that 
we may meet to enjoy him fully to Eternity, and be satisfied 
with his Love for ever. A thousand Loves, if I had them, I 
would send to thee, next to my dearest Lord Jesus, and the 
Things that are Heavenly, Spiritual, and Immortal : I love 
thee : What I can spare for thee is conveyed to thee and my 
dear Children, from 

Thy most Affectionate and Faithful Husband, 

and their most Loving Father, 

J. H. 

Another Letter. 

My most Dear Love, 
I hope you have received my last ; once more, as a dead and 
living Man (through Difficulty) I write to you, though I yet do 
not know when or where I shall die, but expect Death every 
Day ; when that Message is brought to me, I hope, through the 
Grace and Strength of Christ, it will be no Surprize to me ; that 
neither my Lips, Flesh, nor Heart will tremble when I hear it ; 
I know the Cause for which I suffer ; God hath and has singled 
me out from many of my Brethren (which I never have been 



246 <®fyt H&t&mn ^rangacttons* 

without some Apprehensions of, for above these twenty Years) 
to lay down my Life ; how far it is for his Cause, will be judged 
at the last Day : I bless God, who hath kept me from all Temp- 
tations to Conformity ; though it hath brought me to Ruin and 
Destruction in this World, it will be no fit Season for you ,to 
vindicate that for which I am called to suffer, be silent, and 
leave it to God ; I advise you to all Prudence in this Case : 
Have your own reserved Thoughts, and let them concerning me 
support and comfort you ; if there never happen a Time for you 
to glbry in my Sufferings, it will be hereafter ; do you but walk 
with God (though through Prudence you must hold your 
Tongue) and be not asham'd you had such a Husband ; I thank 
God that gave it me, whose Courage and publick Spirit for the 
Protestant Religion, the Civil Liberties of his Country, even true 
English Liberties, hath in this ignominious Way brought me to 
the Conclusion and End of my Time. Mourn not, my Dear, 
as one without Hope, let the World know you have something 
from me, something from your self, as a Christian, but ten 
thousand times more from God, to comfort and support you ; 
see Christ by an Eye of Faith, infinitely more lovely and beau- 
tiful than myself ; let him be married to your Soul ; let him be 
the Chiefest of ten thousand, and more dear and precious to 
^you ; it is not long we shall be separated, before we shall see 
one another in a Spiritual Enjoyment, separated from all fleshly 
Pleasures and Delights, yet infinitely more sweet and satisfying 
to Immortal Spirits, as you and I us'd to see Streams from the 
Fountain, and the largest Streams in the Ocean ; so let us see 
one another in God, the ever-flowing and over-flowing Fountain 
of all Good, the fathomless and boundless Ocean of Good. 
Seek much the Things which are above, live with your Affec- 
tions set upon them ; and have your Conversation in Heaven 
whilst you are upon Earth. I continue yet to pray for you, as 
for my self, and shall continue to do it until I die ; in my last 
Prayers you shall be interested with my dear Babes, whom I 
hope God will take into Covenant with him, and number them 
among his Adopted Ones, and of that incorruptible Inheritance 
which is in Heaven : I hope God will spare their Life to see 
them Educated, and guide and assist you therein, and theirs to 
be a Blessing and Comfort to you : Consider your Condition is 



Captain abradant #nglep* 247 

not single and alone, this Country affords a Multitude of the 
like sad and deplorable Instances ; let this make you more to 
possess your Soul with Patience and Humility, calmly and 
quietly to submit to the good Will of God. I have left a Paper 
behind me for you to read ; and our Friend can tell with what 
Difficulty I write it, therefore must have many Defects and 
Imperfections, which must be over-looked and mended ; pre- 
serve the two Bibles for my dear James and Betty. What shall 
I say more, my Dearest? I must break off with my Heart full 
of Love to thee ; and subscribe my self 

Your most Dear and Affectionate 

Husband till Death, 
Octob. 3. 1685. J. H. 

Captain Abraham Ansley's Last Speech. 

I am come to pay a Debt to Nature; 'tis a Debt that all 
must pay, though some after one Manner, and some after 
another : The Way that I pay it may be thought by some few 
ignominious, but not so by me ; having long since, as a true 
Englishman, thought it my Duty to venture my Life in Defence 
of the Protestant Religion against Popery and Arbitrary Power : 
For this same Purpose I came from my House to the Duke of 
Momnouth's Army : At first I was a Lieutenant, and then a 
Captain, and I was in all the Action the Foot was engaged in, 
which I do not repent : For had I a thousand Lives, they should 
all have been engaged in the same Cause, although it hath 
pleased the wise God (for Reasons best known to himself) to 
blast our Designs ; but he will deliver his People by Ways we 
know nor think not of : I might have saved my Life, if I 
would have done as some narrow-soul'd Persons have done, by 
impeaching others ; but I abhor such Ways of Deliverance, 
chusing rather to suffer Affliction with the People of God, than 
to enjoy Life with Sin. As to my Religion, I own the Way and 
Practice of the Independent Churches, and in that Faith I die, 
depending on the Merits of our Saviour Jesus Christ for my 
Eternal Salvation : His Blessing be with you all. Farewel to 
thee, poor England, Farewel. 

Abraham Ansley* 



248 W$z WLt&mn %vammion&. 

Mr. Ansley's Last Letter. 
Sir, 

I now send you my Last Farewel, being going to lay down my 
Life with Joy and Assurance of Life Eternal ; for which blessed 
be the Holy One of Israel, who never leaves nor forsakes those 
that put their Trust in him, and give you many Thanks for 
your Kindness to me, the Lord make it up to you, by pouring 
upon you' a daily Portion of his most Holy Spirit, and deliver 
you from your Bonds. My Enemies have done what they could 
to afflict this Body ; but blessed be the most High, who hath 
given me Strength, Patience, and Courage to endure all they 
can lay upon me. The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and 
the Fellowship of his Holy Spirit attend you ; which is the 
Prayer of your dying Friend, but living Brother in Christ Jesus, 

Abraham Ansley. 
From Taunton Castle> 
Sept 21. 1685. 



Mr. Josias Askew's Letter to his Father. 

Honoured Father, 
I not having an Opportunity to make my Gratitude known to 
you for all your Endeavours, for the saving a poor, vain, perish- 
ing, and troublesome Life ; and seeing it is all in vain, I would 
desire you both to acquiesce in the Will of God, and rejoice with 
me for this happy Day of my Departure from this State of 
Pilgrimage, home to the Possession of those Heavenly Mansions, 
which my God and Father hath provided for me, in and through 
my Lord Jesus Christ : It is in him alone I put my Trust and 
Confidence, and therefore can boldly say, Who is he that con- 
demneth ? It is. Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again 
and is set down at the Right Hand of God, making Intercession 
for all those that have a well-grounded Confidence in him. My 
Time is but short, and by Reason of Company I am disturbed ; 
therefore I conclude with my last Breath, begging of God that he 
would keep you constant in his Fear, in this Day of great 



9£r* Jo^tasf &0feeto> 249 

Temptation, and at last receive you to his Glory, where we 
shall once more unite in Praising without interruption or Dis- 
traction, World without End, Amen : Until which Time the 
Grace of God the Father, the love of God the Son, the comfort- 
able Refreshings of God the Holy Ghost, be with you, all yours, 
and the whole Israel of God, both now and for ever : Which is 
the hearty Prayer of your Son, 

Josias Askew. 
Pray remember me to all with Joy. 



Another Letter to his Friend. 
Madam, 

You have been a Partaker with me in my Troubles, I would 
also make you Partaker with me in my Joys ; seeing my Wed- 
ding day is come, the Day of the Bridegroom is at hand, and I 
am this Day to be stript of my Rags of Corruption, to be 
cloathed upon with the White Robe of his Righteousness and 
Purity, and to be married to my Husband, and to be given to 
the Embraces of my Lord Jesus Christ for ever and ever. 

Learn not to repine at the Holy Determination of an Infinite 
Wise God, but rest satisfied in his Will, knowing that he doth 
all Things for the Best, to them that fear him : Weep not for me 
who am only changing this World of Temptation, of Troubles 
and Afflictions : It hath pleased God to call me a little before 
you, but you must soon follow after ; keep therefore the Fear of 
God before your Eyes, and then you will have Cause to rejoice, 
and not to mourn ; when at the Time of Departure you may 
have Cause to say with me, / have run my Race, J have finished 
my Course, 1 have kept the Faith, henceforth is laid up for me a 
Crown of Glory which fadeth not awayj which that you may be 
able to say, is the hearty prayer of 

Your Friend and Servant, 

Josias Askew. 

The Account his Friend gives of him. 

To prevent your further Trouble in suing for a Pardon, I 
think it convenient to let you know, I do not question but my 
dear Cousin hath had his Pardon sealed by the King of Kings, 



250 %^t aaiegftern Cranjsattfonsf* 

and is in everlasting Blessedness, singing Hallelujahs, Salvation, 
Glory, and Honour, to him that sits upon the Throne, and to the 
Lamb, for ever and ever ; For God did so carry him through 
to drink that Bitter Cup, with so much Courage and Chearful- 
ness to the last, as was to the Admiration of all Spectators, not- 
withstanding the terrible Sight he saw at the Place of Suffering, 
and so vehemently, as he was tried by the Adversary, yet it did 
not in the least discompose him, or alter his countenance ; for he 
continued with a smiling Countenance to the last, and was 
transported above Measure : I want Words to express it, he was 
like One wrapt up in Heaven, with his Heart there, and his 
Eyes fixed thereon. I could wish you had been there, it would 
have driven away all Cause of Sorrow from your Heart, to see 
his Deportment, and hear the gracious Words that proceeded 
out of his Mouth : He remembreth his duty to you both, and 
left PauPs Blessing with you, Grace, Mercy, and Peace ; his 
Love to his dear Sister ; he desires her not to be troubled for 
him, for he hath made his Peace with God, and was assured he 
should go to Eternal Happiness ; he would have written more 
to you and to his Sister, but that he had so short a Time after 
Sentence, that he wanted Opportunity ; when he went out of 
Prison, he said, Gentlemen, now I am going, and it is the Time 
I much longed for; I would not change with him that passeth 
Sentence upon me, for a World. I was with him to the last, and 
seeing his Courage, did very much encourage me, though I 
never saw such a Sight with my Eyes. 



The Behaviour of John Holway, before and at the 

Place of his Execution at Warham, in the County 

of Dorset. 

He lived in Lyme where the Duke Landed, and appeared in 
Arms at that Time, until his Captain left him ; then took up 
Arms under the Duke of Monm.outh, and went with him, until 
the King's Proclamation came forth, That all that would lay 
down their Arms before some Justice of the Peace, in four Days 




John Holwat being taken to the pla.ce of eis Execution at Wa.rham. 

P. 250. 



9£r* 9$attIjrto& 251 

after, and take a Certificate for their so doing, they should be 
acquitted, and have his Majesty's Pardon, which this Person 
did, though one Day too late ; which Blot my Lord Chief 
Justice hit, being very good at it, and passed the Sentence of 
Death on him. Before his Trial he was not much concerned at 
his Case, and thought himself almost out of Danger : But to 
be short, he received his Sentence with much Courage and 
Resolution, and by the Means of one Mr. Tiller, who was to 
suffer with him, was brought to that settled Frame of Spirit, as 
is fit for one in that Condition : As he was riding in the Cart, 
toward the Place of Execution, the Troopers, being just behind 
the Cart, he told them, They shewed like Brave Fellows, but, 
said he, if I were to have my Life for fighting the best five of you, 
I would not question it. At the Place of Execution he said not 
much, But that he thought his and other Mens Blood would be 
revenged one' Time or another, and said, Forgive me, have 
Mercy on my poor Soul, pardon all my Sins, and the like, and 
so the Executioner did his office. 



The Last Speech and Prayer of Mr. Matthews at the 
Place of Execution. 

He was much concerned the Morning before he died, to see 
his Wife weep, and to be in such a Passion for him, which drew 
Tears from his Eyes ; and taking her in his Arms, said, My 
Dear, prithee do not disturb me at this Time, but endeavour to 
siibmit to the Will of God j and although thy Husband is going 
from thee, yet I trust God will be all in all unto thee; sure, my 
Dear, you will make my Passage . into Eternity more Trouble- 
som than otherwise, if you thus lament and take on for me ; I am 
very sensible of thy tender Love towards me, but would have you 
consider, that this Separation will be so much for my advantage, 
as your loss cannot parallel. I thank God I am willing to die, 
and to be with 7ny Jesus j be satisfied the will of God must be 
done : Thy Will be done, God, in Earth as it in Heaven: So 



25a Cfje Mt&mn ^rangactiong* 

embracing her, took his last Farewel of her, and prepared to go 
to the Place of Execution, where being come, he with a very 
modest, sober, composed Frame of Spirit stood while he saw 
several executed before him ; his turn being come, he thus 
spake : 

Dear Countrymen, I suppose we are all of one Kingdom and 
Nation, and I hope Protestants j O I wonder we should be so 
cruel and bloodthirsty one towards another ; I have heard it 
said heretofore, that England could never be ruirtd but by her- 
self, which now I fear is a doing. Lord have Mercy on poor 
England, turn the Hearts of the Inhabitants thereof cause them 
to love one another, and to forget one anothers Infirmities, 
Have Mercy, O Lord, on me; give me Strength and Patience to 
fulfil thy Will, comfort my dear and sorrowful Wife, be a 
Husband unto her, stand by her in the greatest Trouble and 
Affliction, let her depend upon thy Providence ; be 7nerciful to 
all men, preserve this Nation from Popery, find out yet a Way 
for its Deliverance, if it be thy good Will, and give all Men 
Hearts to be truly thankful ; comfort my Fellow-sufferers that 
are immediately to follow, give them Strength and Comfort 
to the End : I forgive all the World, even those that have been 
the immediate Hastners of my Death : I am in charity with all 
men. A nd now, Blessed Lord Jesus, into thy Hands I commend 
my Spirit. Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy 
Name ; thy Kingdom come, thy Will be done in Earth as it is 
in Heaven ; give us this Day our daily Bread ; forgive us our 
Trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us ; and 
lead us not into Temptation ; but deliver us from Evil ; for 
thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory for ever and 
ever, Amen. 

After which going up the Ladder, he desired the Executioner 
not to be hard to him, who answered, No, and said, I pray, mas- 
ter, forgive 7ne : To which he said, I do with my whole Heart, 
and I pray God forgive thee; but I advise thee to leave off 
this bloody Trade. The Executioner said, / am forced to do 
what I do, it's against my Mind. So lifting up his Hands to 
Heaven, the Executioner did his office. 



9£r* Eoffer »>atcf)eL 253 

The Behaviour and Dying-Words of Mr. Roger Sat- 
chel, who was Executed at Weymouth in the 
County of Dorset. 

This Gentleman, at the Time of the Duke's Landing at Lyme, 
lived at Culliton, about five Miles West of that Town, and was 
supposed to be concerned in the Design with the Duke. He 
always was a great Admirer of him, which got him many- 
En emies among the Gentry of that County : He always hated 
the name of a Papist ; and as it fell out, he did foresee Popery 
advancing, as his Words to divers of his Neighbours can testifie. 
As for his Disposition, he was of a very Generous and Heroick 
Spirit. But to proceed, No sooner had he the News of the 
Duke's being Landed, but he sets himself to Work to serve him, 
desiring all he knew to join with him, and was one of the first 
that went to him to Lyme, and was with him to the End : But 
after the Rout, travelling to and fro to secure himself, was at 
last taken at Chard by three Moss-Troopers, under no Dis- 
cipline, who made it their Business to ruin their Neighbours in 
those parts ; they are so well known, I need not say any more. 
He was from thence carried to Ilchester, and so secured in 
Llchester Gaol ; and at the Bloody Assizes at Dorchester took 
his Trial, and received his Sentence with the rest. Great Appli- 
cation was made for him, but my L. C. Justice Jeffreys Ears 
were deaf, and so was ordered to be executed at Weymouth. 
After Sentence, two of his Friends came to him, and told hi m, 
There was no Hope. He answered, My hope is in the Lord. 
After which he spent most of his Time before Execution in 
Prayer and Meditation, and conferring with many good persons. 
The morning being come, he prepared himself, and all the Way 
drawing to Execution was very devout. Being come to the 
Place, there was a Minister, I think, of that Place, who sung a 
Psalm, and prayed with them, and would have some discourse 
with this Person, which he avoided as much as possible ; but 
he asked him, What were his Grounds for joining in that 
Rebellion ? Who answered, Had you, Sir, been there, and a 
Protestant,! believe you would have joined too ; but do not speak 



254 ttiftt Wimtvn ^ran^actton^ 

to me about that, I am come to die for my Sins, not for my 
Treason against the King, as you call it. So pointing to the 
Wood that was to burn his Bowels, he said, / do not care for 
that; what matters it what becomes of my Body, so my Soul be 
at Rest? So praying to himself near half an Hour, and advising 
some he knew, never to yield to Popery, he was turned off the 
Ladder. He was a couragious, bold-spirited Man, and one of 
great Reason, just and punctual in all his Business, and one that 
did much good amongst his Neighbours. 

There was at the same Time and Place one Mr. Lancaster 
executed, whose Courage and Deportment was such, that he 
out braved-Death, and in a Manner Challenged it to hurt him, 
saying, / die for a good Cause, and am going to a Gracious God. 
I desire all your Christian Prayers ; 'tis good to go to Heaven 
with Company. And much more he spake concerning the Duke 
of Monmouth, whom he supposed at that Time to be living ; and 
so praying privately for some small Time, he was turned, or 
rather leaped over the Ladder. 

If I mistake not, he said he was born or lived in BridporL 



The Last Speech of Mr. Benjamin Sandford, at the 
Place of Execution at Bridport. 

He with Nine more were brought from Dorchester to Brid- 
port to be Executed. Coming to the Place of Execution, he 
held up his Hands to Heaven, and turning himself to the people, 
said, / am an Old Man you see, and I little thought to have 
ended my_ Days at such a shameful Place, and by such an 
ignominious Death; and indeed it is dreadful to Flesh and 
Blood, as well as a Reproach to Relations, but it would have 
been a great deal more if I had suffered for some Felonious 
Account. Says one to him, Is not this worse do you think than 
Felony /He answered, / know not any Thing that I have done 
so bad as Felony, that this heavy Judgment should fall upoii 
me, except it be for my Sins against my God, who7n I have 
highly provoked, and must acknowledge have deserved ten 



^mttg* 255 

thousand times more ; Lord! I trust thou has pardoned them; 
Seal my Pardon in the Blood of my Saviour; Lord, look upon y 
and be with me to the last Moment 

There was also executed at the same Time one John Bennet, 
a poor Man, but pious, and of good Report with his Neighbours 
in Lyme, where he lived. I have heard that when he was on Trial, 
a certain Person inform'd his Lordship, that the Prisoner, then 
at the Bar, had Alms of the Parish ; and that his Lordship 
should reply, Do not trouble yourselves, I will ease the Parish of 
that Trouble. In Prison, and at the Place of Execution, he be- 
haved himself so well to all, that many of his Enemies pitied 
him, and would, if it had lain in their Power, (as they said) have 
saved him. His Son being then present, offered to have died 
for him, and was going up the Ladder, if it might have been 
suffered. Here was a glorious instance of Filial Affection/ He 
prayed some short Time, and so was translated, as we have 
Hopes to think, from this troublesom World into Celestial Joy 
and Happiness. 



Next follow many Excellent Hymns made by several 
Worthy Persons that were Prisoners for the sake of 
Christ. 

Triumphing Songs with Glorious Tongues 

Let's offer unto him, 
That loved so to undergo 

The Product of our Sin. 

Leaving his Throne from Heaven came down, 

Sinners for to redeem 
From Hell, and Wrath, and second Death, 

Christ underwent great Pain. 

His Side was gor'd, his Hands were bor'd, 

His Feet were nailed down, 
And all was for the Redemption 

Of sinful, wicked Man. 



256 Clje Qfilzguvn '3Tran0actton& 

Oh how straitned, prest, and pained 

Was Christ to be Baptized, 
And in Affliction to be plunged, 

His Body Sacrificed. 

Let God be blest for Jesus Christ, 

Who is our splendid King ; 
Hallelujahs sweet with Spirit meet, 

High Praises to him sing. 

For Blood, for Wounds, for Love, whose Bounds 

Extended unto all ; 
For Scoffs and Smites, for Jeers, for Flouts, 

Which upon Christ did fall. 

Now, Christ, haste unto us again, 

Thy Scepter for to sway, 
Thy Kingdom come, thy Will be done, 

Come, Jesus, come away. 

With glorious Bands and shining Trance 

Of Angels in the Sky, 
Which forth shall sing triumphing Songs 

With sweet Hallelujah. 

Set up thy Standard, and prepare 

War against Babylon; 
For her Destruction draweth near, 

As here we read her Doom. 

Lord, blow the Trumpet, and awake 

The Nations round about ; 
Stir up the Spirit of the Medes, 

Which did old Babel rout. 

For Babel must drink of that Cup 

Which Sion deep did wound ; 
Jerusalem did first begin, 

And so the Cup goes round. 



Upmnsf. 257 

But Babel must drink up the Dregs 

Of Wrath which do remain, 
With which no Mixture she shall have 

To mitigate her Pain. 

For 'tis the Vengeance of our God, 

And of his Temple too, 
The Vials that fill up his Wrath, 

The Three last Trumpets Woe. 

When Jacob, as a Battle- Ax 

In Great Jehovah's Hand, 
Shall break down all those Mountains tall, 

That in his Way do stand. 

O then let us rejoice, because 

The Time appointed is, 
That Babel shall be seen to fall, 

And Sion shine in Bliss. 

Our Lord draws near, as doth appear 

By Signs by him fore-told ; 
Then, Virgins, come, meet your Bridegroom, 

His Wondrous Works behold. 

The Night grows dark, be still, and hark 

What is the Bridegroom's Voice ; 
That when the Cry comes swiftly by 

It may your Hearts rejoice. 

Your Light grows dim, arise, and trim 

Your Lamps from all their Soil ; 
And see your Light shines clear and bright, 

Supply'd with Gospel-Oil. 

Some Virgins now do sleepy grow, 

And don't their Vessels fill ; 
Nor fear a Want, when Oil grows scant, 

And none be found to sell, 
s 



258 %\)t WLt&mn % transaction^ 

And at Mid-night, all in a Fright, 
Oil-shops they cannot find ; 

And none will spare out of his Share, 
And so they are left behind. 

Thus Foolish sleep in Dangers deep, 
And think their Lord delays ; 

But his own Bride hath surely spi'de 
Some of his Glorious Rays : 

And will not sleep, unless she keep 
Her Watch-lights burning still, 

With Oil in Store, laid up therefore ; 
Let him come when he will. 



And though her Garments had some Rents 

And Spots, not perfect white, 
Yet they ? 11 be cleansed, or quickly chang'd 

For Rayments of Delights. 

With her Bridegroom she will find Room 

In Chambers of his Love ; 
When the Unwise he will despise, 

And them from him remove. 



The Behaviour and Dying-Words of Mr. Gatchill, 
Executed at Taunton. 

The said Mr. Gatchill was a Constable of the Hundred ; he 
was surprised by a Party of the Duke's, and shewed a Warrant 
to bring in Provisions and other Necessaries for the Use of the 
Army, which if he had not obeyed, was threatned to have his 
House burnt ; so that he was obliged to do what he did for his 
own Preservation. But this was not sufficient, for being found 
guilty, he was executed. As he was drawn to Execution, he 
looked on the People, and said, A Populous Town, God bless 



2t£r* 3|oijn ^ucfeer* 259 

it. Just before he was executed, he spake, That the Crime he 
was accused of, and condemned for, was High-Treason, but he 
did not know himself to be guilty of it; a7id that what he did 
he was forced to do. And further said, / am so well known to 
you that I do verily believe you have Charity to think that what 
I speak is true. As for the Niceties of the Law, I do not well 
understand them. And much more to the same Effect he spake. 
And so after Prayer, with his suffering Brother, Mr. Simon 
Hambling, he was Executed. 

There was also Executed at Taunton Mr. fohn Hiicker, a 
very worthy Gentleman of that Town. He had some ill Friends 
in the Duke's Army, that cast Aspersions on him, as though he 
was the Person that was a Traitor to the Duke, by firing a 
Pistol in Sedgmoorj but I have strictly examined many on that 
Point, and can find it to be nothing but the worst of an 
Enemy's Malice, to wound him after his Death in his Reputation, 
which he always valued highly when living. To be short, he 
has left the Character, amongst his Neighbours, of an Honest 
Man, a good Christian, and one that was true to the Interest of 
the Duke, and sealed it with his Blood. 



The following Letter my Bookseller received from 
Mr. Robert Hucker now living in Taunton, which 
I thought proper to Print Word for Word, that so 
my Reader may see what Care I have taken to have 
all the Accounts I give concerning Mr. Hucker well 
attested. 

Mr. Dunton, Taunton, Feb. 24th, 169 1-2. 

Looking over the Advertisements in the Athenian Mercury, 
I found your Intention of making some Additions to the Book 
called the Bloody Assizes; and finding others that suffered with 
my Father, their Relations have Printed their Last Letters; 
I have here sent you a Letter written by my Father but some 
Hours before he was Executed ; the main Reason why I con- 
sented to have it Printed, was, That Persons Mouths may be 
stopt from their false and lying Accusations ; he carried himself 

S 2 



260 %l)t aaiegstera tCcaitsfacttongf* 

like a Christian under Confinement j but when he came to look 
Death in the Face, it was with so much Courage, that it was 
to the Astonishment of the Beholders ; for there was many a 
weeping Eye amongst both Officers and Soldiers for him, 
and those his Fellow- Sufferers. I crave a Line from you pf 
the Receipt of this, with which you will oblige, Sir, 

Your unknown Friend and Servant, 
Direct to me in Taimton. Robert Hucker. 

Mr. John Hucker's Letter to his Friend, a little before 

his Execution. 

I was in Hopes to have had Liberty to speak a few Words at 
the Place of Execution, till a few Minutes since ; but now am 
persuaded the contrary : Therefore excuse these abrupt Lines. 

I bless God, I am now reconciled to this contemptible Death ; 
it was long e'er I could, but now God hath done; it for me, and 
I thankfully submit to it from the Hands of the wise God, whom 
I have offended : And therefore desire to accept my Punishment, 
knowing he doth all Things well, without any Wrong to his 
Creatures. 

I had lately some Discourse with two Persons, whereof one 
was of Quality, concerning the Things laid to my Charge ; I 
was told, that it was three Things ; one was, That I was an 
Enemy to, or against the Protestant Religion ; that I was 
troublesome, and had acted vigorously in Elections of Members 
for Parliament ; and upheld the Meetings. 

I own my self a Protestant, and die an Asserter of that 
Religion, and I pray God I do not prove a better Friend to it 
than those that have industriously endeavoured the taking away 
my Life, and that they see it not when it's too late. 

As to the Meetings, I bless God I ever was at any of them, 
and that I was any way instrumental to the upholding of them, 
and am troubled that I have, I fear, sinfully deprived myself of 
them, and do believe, if ever the Ordinances of God were rightly 
administred, and the Gospel effectually preached, it was in 
those Meetings that were held in Taunton j the Lord bless the 
Seed that was there sown. 

As to Elections of Members for Parliament, I judge it my 



Sin Account of ItfcVtf Cruelties. 261 

Birthright, and therefore was Industrious in it ; but I hope 
never did (I am sure never intended) Troublesomness to any in 
it, but especially to my Superiors ; I had ever a venerable and 
due Esteem of Magistrates, as the Ministers of God, and 
they administring an Ordinance of God. 

I also lye under a Reproach of being unfaithful to an Interest 
that I owned, which I utterly deny and disown. 

I pray God bless and forgive my violent Enemies, that have 
industriously sought the taking away my Life. It's the hearty 
Prayer of JOHN Hucker. 

From Taunton-Castle, a little before 
he suffered, Septemb. 30th, 1685. 



An Impartial Account of Kirk's Cruelties, with other 
Barbarities in the West. Sent to the Compiler of 
this History, by one that was an Eye and Ear Witness 
to all the Matter of Fact. 

When Kirk came first into Taunton he came with two Cart- 
loads of Men Bloody, and their Wounds not drest, just as they 
were hauled into Bridgwater Prison, they were guarded with 
Granadeers with naked Swords and Bagonets. He also brought 
with him into Taunton, a great Drove of Foot, chain'd two and 
two together. He hanged Nineteen on the Corn-hill immediately, 
not suffering either their Wives or Children to speak to 'em, or 
to take their leave of 'em. 

As they were executing, he, Kirk, caused the Pipes to play. 
Drums and Trumpets to sound, that the Spectators might not 
hear the Cries and Groans of Dying Men, nor the Cries of their 
Friends. He caused their Bowels to be burnt, and their 
Quarters to be boiled in Pitch, and hanged all about the Town. 

Kirk hanged one on the White Heart Sign-post Three 
Times, to try if he would own he had done amiss ; but he 
affirmed (to this Effect) That if it was to do again, he would 
engage in the same Cause ; so Kirk would have him hang'd 
in Chains ; and so he was, till King William came to 
Deliverance of this Nation from Popery and Slavery. 



262 %$t JLfliegttertt ^rangacttong* 

When Jenkins, Hewlings, &c. were to die, before they came 
out of the B /, there was a great Fire made on the Corn- 
hill, that so they might see the Fire that was to burn their Bowels. 

Some that Kirk caused to be hanged, he caused also their 
Bodies to be stript, and their Breasts to be cleav'd asunder ; 
in the Place where he caused the Executions to be done, you 
might have gone up to the Ankles in Blood; he also caused 
the Hearjts of the poor Executed Men to be thrown into the 
Fire with a great Shout, saying, Here is the Heart of a Traitor, 

A Captain of W was hang'd, and the Rope broke, where- 
by he hoped to have saved his Life ; but they took from a 
Market-Horse a Ring-rope, and hanged him again. 

At the Assizes, when the Prisoners were brought before the 
Bar, Jeffreys said, If any Man pleaded Not-guilty, he should die. 

One not concerned in Monmouth's Business, when asked, 
said, Not Guilty, 7ny Lord; Jeffreys said, Take him, J ay lor, and 
let him be executed another Time. 

An. Honest Man was hang'd for sparing for Monmouth's 
Horse three Penny worth of Hay. 

A Constable also was hang'd for executing of Monmouth's 
Warrant. 

And many Hundreds were put in the Castle-Hall, by which it 
was feared they would infect the Town. Francis Burges was 

taken upon Maidendown, by the Persuasion of Sir was 

hang'd by fastning a Rope to a Chamber- Window, and set upon 

a Hoget, and so hang'd. The Executioner was one S of 

St. Thoinas's Parish, Exon. 

There was, by good Report, several Scores died in Ilchester 
by Infectious Diseases, and in their Irons, and Hand-bolts ; for 
if they were not hard-hearted, and us'd the extreamest Rigour 
imaginable, the Keepers were not counted good Subjects. One 
of Welinton that was to be hanged then, was saved, supposed 

by Order of Sir and one of Crookern hanged in his stead ; 

this is true, and so it was at other Places : but 'twere endless 
to record all the Cruelties exercised by Kirk and Jeffreys, after 
Monmouth's Defeat. 

Now that which remains, is to give an Account of Hundreds 
that had fled and hid themselves up and down in Holes and 
Rocks, whose Friends made all Application to some great 



9t£r* :25urtu 263 

Person or other to procure their Pardons ; some to this, some to 
others, that they thought Favourites with the King ; but the 
Rewards must be ascertain'd before any Application could be 
made, (for Pardons were just as they were in Rome) according 
to the Ability of the Person, from Half a Crown to Sixteen 
Thousand Guineas ; Any Tooth, good Barber. Divers Lists 
being sent up, and the Rewards ascertained, which amongst 
many of them put together, did amount to considerable Sums. 
So that it was now, who could find a Friend to relieve his 
distressed Relations, which were forced to wander up and down 
in Caves and Deserts, for fear of being taken. But this Mis- 
fortune attended the Agents, that unless my Lord Chancellor 
were used, by his Creatures that were allowed by him so to do, 
other Applications commonly met with Disappointments. 

To conclude, The Solemn, Serious, Dying Declarations, and 
Christian Courage of the Western Sufferers, have always out- 
weighed with me the Evidence of those flagitious Witnesses, 
who swore these Persons out of their Lives. And I did, and do 
most steadfastly believe, that the only Plot in that Day was the 
same which the Almighty has at length owned, and most 
signally prospered, in the hand of Our Gracious, August, and 
Rightful Soveraign, King William ; I mean the rescuing the 
Protestant Religion, and the Laws and Liberties of England, 
from a most Impetuous Torrent of Popery and Tyranny: 
wherewith they were very dangerously threatned. And me- 
thinks it should even convert a Tory (unless his Brains were 
pickt out of his Skull, by him who pickt the Guineas out of his 
Pocket) when he cast his Eye upon that apposite and Empha- 
tical Expression in the Observator, Vol. 2. Numb. 125. (Co beal 
free toutf) tfree, TRIMMER, 31 fete more tfattft, in tfte U£orb£ of <®ne 
bping Traitor, un&er tfie strofte of dustier, tfjan of (Ctoentg titomg. 



The following Relations were written by Mr. Burd, 
and other West-Country Gentlemen, and were sent 
to be inserted in our Western Martyrology. 

Mr. Burd lives near Fro??ie, he gives (in a Letter hereafter 
inserted) a Remarkable Account of several Passages ; for he 



264 %t)t WLtmvn r &wn$miom. 

Proclaimed the Duke of Monmouth at the Head of the Army, 
which was unwillingly done by the Duke then : He also saw the 
Maids of Honour present their Flags, and several come to kiss 
the Duke's Hand, as King after Proclamation, and presented a 
Purse of Guineas on their Knees. At this Time One Widow 
made a Pathetic Speech to him, and delivered her Mite. 

As the Army went through Pensford, a Parson came out of 
an Ale-house, and asked them, Gentlemen, how doth the King 
do? If he comes this Way to Day, I will kiss his Hand, mean- 
ing the Duke of Momnouth. 

The Parson was Indicted first on a single Indictment ; after 
Jeffreys had drank a Bottle of Claret, (as was his Custome) he 
repairs to the Bench, where being seated, the Parson was brought 
before him. 

Jeffreys reprimanded the Parson so severely at first, that the 
Parson was ready to sink for Fear ; but recovering himself, 
said — Not Guilty ; alledging he never wore Weapon, nor was 
in the Army, only stood by on Horseback, and view'd the 
Army. 

Jeffreys replied, There is a worse Weapon than a Sword, 
that is a Parson's Tongue, and declared to the Parson, that 
whoever stood by the Army, or gave a smile on it, was Guilty 
of Rebellion : (Tho ? a Smile might be in Derision). 

The Parson pleaded, that it was not known that the Duke 
would have come to Kittson half a Quarter of an Hour before 
he came, and that he had Business that Way, which stopp'd him, 
and that he was forc'd to stay and see the Encampement, but 
exchanged not one Word with any belonging to the Army. 

The Parson also urg'd, that both the Witnesses against him 
swore in Malice, because he had put one of 'em into the Spiritual 
Court for Tithes, and the other Witness he had Arrested. 

At last Jeffreys demanded if any Neighbouring Gentleman 
could give a Character of the Parson, (tho ? he lookt upon all 
the Gentry thereabouts as Rebels). 

The Parson alledg'd Captain Cox, the Fore-man of the Grand 
Inquest, knew him ; who was sent for. 

When Capt. Cox appear'd, Jeffreys askt him, If he had 
observed all the Ceremonies, and behav'd himself Loyally ? 

Captain Cox answered, He knew no ill Character of him, &c. 



9$v+ Burtu 265 

After this, Jeffreys summ'd up the Evidence against the 
Parson, but wheePd at last into this, / fear the Sin of Rebellion 
lurks under that Canonical Coat, I would have him hang 'd to be 
an Example to others. 

Had Burd said he heard the Parson say he would kiss the 
King's Hand, if he came by that Way, the Parson had certainly 
truss'd up. 

The Parson's Jury brought him in Not Guilty j upon which 
Jeffreys made him down on his Knees, aad bid him go, and 
Preach for his Sake upon that Text, Fear God and honour the 
King, &c. 

While this Parson was upon his Trial, the Court was inter- 
rupted with the Maids of Honour, who came hoping for Pardon ; 
and often the Court was interrupted with Petitions, and 
Certificates under the Justices Hands, to certifie that the 
Bearers did according to the King's Proclamation come in in 
Five Days, and therefore expected their Pardon. 

It happened one Alderman Holliday's Son was One that came 
in within the Five Days, and his Father offered to vindicate his 
Son, and to be Bail for him ; (for all that came within the Time, 
he made them give special Bail) Jeffreys said, He knew many 
Aldermen were Villains, and he hoped to beat some Furr out of 
their Gowns. 

Then he began to Trie the Two Hundred odd Men : Burd 
was in the Front, as their Names were called ; he made every 
Man shew his Face ; for if they were in Years, they had been 
Rebels ever since Oliver's Time, their Age tried them. But for 
further Confirmation of some of these Particulars, we refer you 
to Mr. Burd's Letter, directed to Mr. John Dunton, in these 
Words. 

Beckington, June 24th, 1702. 
Sir, 
Looking over a Book lately, Intituled, A Panegyric on the 
Lord Jeffreys, I find a great deal therein contained true to my 
own Knowledge, and therefore doubt not of all the rest, for I 
was One my self condemned by him at Wells Assizes, and my 
getting off next to a Wonder to all that heard thereof: the 
Particulars whereof, and the Manner how, being too long and 



266 W$z ftfliegtem ^rangacttongf. 

tedious, I shall not trouble you therewith ; only being informed 
you intend to Reprint your Bloody Assises, I thought it not 
amiss to acquaint you with two or three of the most Material 
Passages that happened within the Compass of my own Know- 
ledge and View. When I was committed a Prisoner to , the 
Bath, where I lay fourteen Weeks, I found there seven and 
twenty more confined in a little Room, some lying on Boards, 
others through much Difficulty had obtained the Favour of 
Straw to' lye on. Among those aforementioned there was two 
poor Men, who lived in or about Taunton and Ilminster, whose 
Names were William Hussey, a Worsted Comber, I judge about 
seventy Years of Age ; he alledged he went into the Army 
to fetch home his Son, being himself past engaging in War ; 
Thomas Paul, I think of the same Occupation, and upwards of 
sixty Years old, but a Quaker. This said Hussey and Paid 
were never under the least Apprehension of suffering during 
their fourteen Weeks Imprisonment, till the very Day they were 
condemned, the said Hussey often times affirmed, he was never 
out with the Duke's Army ; and the said Paul being Unkle to 
a very Great Man's Chaplain at Court ; the said Chaplain was 
his chief Dependance, and promised him a Pardon by his 
Interest. Now it so happened, that the Prisoners commonly 
about once a Week had Liberty from their Keeper to go out of 
the said Prison, hand-bolted two and two, to the said Keeper's 
House, for an Hour or two, to divert and recreate themselves ; 
and commonly these two ancient Men, Hussey and Paul, were 
linkt together, and they would both of them generally take that 
Liberty, to drink till they were a little merry and brisk ; and 
when they return'd in that Posture to the said Prison, it would 
be most Times the usual Custome of William Hussey, (as soon 
as ever the Keeper had took off their Hand-bolts) to strike the 
said Thomas Paul on the Shoulder, jocosely saying, Never 
fear, To?n Paul, if thou and I be hang'd we'll hang Cheek by 
Choul ; which Expression I often times heard, though I did 
little think at that Time either of them would suffer ; but it so 
happened, that contrary to both their Imaginations they were 
hang'd Side by Side. The Day after they were condemed, I 
accidentally met with the said William Hussey, walking out in 
the middle of the Cloisters at Wells by himself, with his Hat 



9£r* Burtu 267 

over his Eyes, very melancholly, weeping, at which I was a little 
surprized, and ask'd what was the Matter ? He replied, with 
Tears in his Eyes, Ha ! Mr. Burd, I look upon my self now, 
and never till now, a dead Man ; you are a Young Man, and if 
you can get off of this Business, you may live to see many 
Years ; and remember that I told thee so, before the Year 88 be 
over, you will see all Things turn'd Upside down, and King 
James, for what he had done, would be turn'd out, and another 
would come in, and effect what was then begun ; and with a 
great deal of Earnestness and Zeal doubled over his Words 
again ; but at that Time Thinking what he so earnestly affirmed 
was the Effect of his Concern for his own Death, I did scarce ever 
recollect what he then affirmed, till 88 was over, when I saw all 
Things exactly happened as he before had told me. Another 
Passage I took Notice of among others., was, when I was at the 
Bar to receive my Doom, One of the Judge Jeffrey's Officers 
told the Judge there was One of the Maids of Honour (so call'd, 
because 20 or 30 of that Sex presented Flags to the Duke at 
Taunton after he was proclaimed King) come to surrender her 
self, begging Mercy at his Hands ; whom when he saw, he lookt 
on her with a very fierce Countenance, raving at her, &c, bid 
the Goaler take her, which struck such a Fear into the Poor 
Girl, that she pull'd her Hood over her Face, and fell a weeping; 
and the Goaler, according to the Command of the fierce Judge, 
took her away immediately out of the Court ; and, as I was 
afterwards informed, she died in his Custody not many Hours 
after for Fear, as our Lord Mayor died for Fear of Jeffreys, 
when brought before him. When I my self received my 
Sentence, there was another Young Man hand-bolted to me, 
whose Name was Jacob Tripp, about 21 Years of Age, and so 
stout and brisk, that he would almost attempt to fight a Lion : 
I could tell you all his Case and Circumstances as well as my 
own, but 'twill be too large to insert here ; only thus much I will 
hint about him, He was always of the Tory Party, but he fell 
in with Monmouth's Men ; it so happened, that after Sentence 
past on both of us, we were at the same Time both taken very 
dangerously ill, in a very malignant, infectious Feaver, during 
which Illness a Reprieve came for both of us for so many Days, 
which Days being expired, Tripp's Enemies, his Brother Tories, 



268 W$z WLz&utn ^rangactfon^ 

(which before were his chief Confederates and Acquaintance) 
they said he deserved worse Usage than those who always had 
been such, by their unwearied Diligence had obtained an Order 
for his Execution, he being at that Time so ill, that he had not 
been sensible for near a Week before, and his Physicians gave 
him over for dead, and did affirm it impossible for him to live 
24 Hours, yet, to shew their unbounded Rage, they immediately 
got him lifted out of his Bed, where he lay sensless and a dying, 
wrapt him up in his Sheets, laid him in a Chair, where two Men 
carried him to the Market-place in Wells, the Place of Exe- 
cution, where they hung him up, and quartered him (when he 
was as sensless as a Stock or Stone) before a great many Spec- 
tators, many of which took the Infection of his distemper, 
together with Abundance of the Soldiers, which caused them 
to die like ban'd Sheep ; and this Infection spread afterward 
far and near round the Country, to the Loss of a great many 
Peoples Lives. I could tell you more remarkable Passages, but 
doubting I am too large in these already mentioned, let this 
suffice, from 

Your Humble Servant unknown, 

John Burd. 

Postscript. 

Mr.Dunton, 
You may, if you please, correct this, and put it into some 
better Stile if you think fit ; but the Matter of Fact is all true to 
my Knowledge, as I have truly and impartially related the same ; 
for I had the Honour to be known to the Duke of Monmouth 
before he came into England on that unhappy Expedition, which 
made my getting a Pardon so difficult, that had there not some 
Disgust happened between some great Men concerning me, 
scarce any Price would have purchased it ; for thus it was, That 
very Night the Rout was, being on a Sunday about 8 of the 
Clock, there came a Foot-messenger to the Duke into the Field 
near Bridgwater, and gave him an Account what Posture the 
King's Forces (then at Weston on the Edge of Sedgmore) lay in ; 
the Duke gave him a Gratuity, and sent him back again to make 
a further Discovery, and bring a further Account there'of, but he 
was unfortunately taken ; and returned no more ; upon which the 



$$?. ©urtu 269 

Duke riding into the Town, his Horse in a very strange and un- 
usual Manner threw him, which I often times since thought was 
Ominous : About 1 1 a Clock at night the Army marcht out of 
Bridgwater toward Weston, which proved a Fatal Night. The 
Night after, being Monday Night, I was taken about 20 miles 
distant at a By- Ale-house, with two Young Men, (one a Lon- 
doner) our Horses being carried to Bath, and we to be sent after 
with a Guard ; but I, having an Opportunity, got off, and left my 
Comrades behind, who I understood did also follow my Example ; 
but being taken again the same Day, and delivered into the 
hands of a Roman Catholick, he took Care, and conveyed me to 

Wells before the Lord F , who with the King's Army was 

arrived there from Sedgmore; his Lordship being prepossest 
against me, would hear nothing at all ; I offered to speak, but 
told me, / should be hang'd, dr*c. and immediately sent me a 
Prisoner to the Lower Church in Wells, which was then full of 
the same sort of Spark ; and under a Multitude of Passages that 
happened, too tedious to relate, I had not been there above two 
Days and Nights, but I was unexpectedly released, by Means of 

the Bishop of W r, who had obtained my Lord F 9 s 

Consent ; so then I had a Pass given me under the Hand and 
Seal of the Lord Bishop, by Order and Consent of the said Lord 

F , to require all Officers, Civil and Military, to suffer me 

to pass to my Place of Abode ; notwithstanding which (as I was 
in my Journey) I was again seiz'd, and hurried away to Bath, and 
there had before another great Man, which was exasperated 
against me also by the Information of some Enemies, that had 
told him how great a Rebel I had been, and that I had proclaimed 
the Duke King in the Presence of four thousand Men, &c, 
which appearing so very visible by their offering to swear it, the 
said Great Man in a Fury told me, he would secure I should be 
hang'd, notwithstanding my Pass ; and so sent me to the Common 
Goal in Bath, where I remained about 14 Weeks, and then was 
had to Wells, and there condemn'd. But I had forgot to men- 
tion, that as soon as I was committed to Bath Prison, I sent a 

Messenger to Wells, to acquaint the Bishop of W r, that 

notwithstanding his and my Lord F 9 s Pass, I was again re- 
committed to Bath Prison ; which he seemed to be much con- 
cerned thereat : but in the End I was given to a Pardon-monger, 



270 %$t Qfilz&tmx Crangfactton^. 

and he made his Market upon me, tho' afterwards I was told 
(when too late) that the Judge had Instructions from above, that 
I should not suffer. When I was at the Bar, it was in the front 
of above 200 more, that all received Sentence together ; unto 
whom the Judge made a Speech of above an Hour long, to 
wheedle them all into a Confession, by quoting Places of Scrip- 
ture, to set forth the Hainousness of their crime of Rebellion ; and 
then comes with a long Harangue, telling us how merciful 
the King was, and how ready he was to shew Mercy to the worst 
of us j in which he had this lofty Expression (which I remember 
I did not then believe) Nay, says he, (and thumps the cushion) 
I had almost said, the King is more ready to forgive, than you 
were to rebel. 



Amongst the Barbarous and Inhumane Actions mentioned in the 
preceding Sheets, there having been but very little mentioned 
of the Illegal Whipping-Sentences, pronounced by the merciless 
Judge, or rather Hang-man, Jeffreys j the Editors of this Edi- 
tion have procured a Relation of the said Whipping-Sentences, 
from a Gentleman that was a Prisoner in Dorchester Goal, and 
saw the Execution of them upon the persons sentenc'd ; which 
in short are as follows : 

The Case, Trial, and Sentence of Mr. John Tutchin, 
and several others, in Dorchester, in the County of 
Dorset. 

We must put Mr. John Tutchin, a Young Gentleman of Hamp- 
shire, in the Front of the Persons sentenc'd to be whipped, for 
perhaps no History can parallel the Sentence given against him. 

This Young Gentleman had the Misfortune, with many others 
of his Acquaintance, to be in the Interest of the Duke of Mon- 
mouth, but had a better Fortune than many of 'em, by conceal- 
ing his Name : For when he was taken a Prisoner by the Country 
Guard, he was committed to Prison under the borrowed Name 
of Thomas Pitts, and his real Name was not discovered till 
after he was acquitted of the Rebellion, no person appearing as 
evidence against him. 



Q$t. 3|ofm ^utrtjm- 271 

But Jeffreys having discovered his true Name before Mr. 
Tutchin was gone from the Prison, was resolv'd upon Re- 
venge, and said he was never so far outwitted, by an Old 
or Young Rogue in his Life ; and after he had examined 
Mr. Tutchin to many Particulars, by which Mr. Ttitchin 
knew that Jeffreys had a true Account of him ; for he told 
him the Time when he was in Holland, the very place where 
he lodg'd there, the Manner of his coming over, and the Name 
he went by at that time ; and finding that Mr. Tutchin would 
not answer to some Questions he ask'd him, concerning some 
Gentlemen in Hampshire, who were concerned with Mr. Tut- 
chin in raising some men at Lymington, for the Service of the 
Duke of Monmouth, I say, after this, he was resolved to try Mr- 
Tutchin again. 

But Mr. Tutchin still pretended Ignorance in these Matters to 
his Prison-keeper, who was set upon Mr. Tutchin by Jeffreys, to 
bring him to a Confession ; but the Goal-keeper, whose Name 
was Knapton, tho' he seem'd an Enemy to the Duke's Men 
colour'd many Things that might have taken away the Lives of 
several, and did what he could to allay the Heat of the implac- 
able Judge. 

Having given no ill Character of this Goaler, Mr. Knapton, it 
may be a pardonable Digression, to tell the Reader something of 
another, which I had from the Mouth of Mr. Tutchin : When 
Richardson, the Keeper of Newgate, brought down the Hewlings, 
and some other Gentlemen, to Dorchester against the Assizes, 
the said Richardson drinking with another Goaler, said, Come, 
Brother, here's to our good Health ; this is our Time to make 
our Fortunes, and now we must lay aside all Humanity, for no 
Compassion is to be shown to these Dogs. 

But to return to Mr. Tutchin, he was brought up again to the 
Hall ; but Jeffreys not caring to indict him for Rebellion, pre- 
tended that the Crime of changing his Name deserved a severe 
Sentence ; and thereupon passed Sentence as follows : That he 
should remain in Prison during the Space of Seven Years j that 
once every year he should be whipt thro 1 all the Market Towns 
in Dorsetshire ; that he should pay a Fine of one hundred Marks 
to the King, and find Security for his good Behaviour during 
Life. This, you will say, was a Whipping-Sentence indeed. 



272 %l)t ftfliegtem <<3rran0actton0* 

It was observable, when this Sentence was past upon Mr 
Tutchin, that the Ladies in the Court, of which there were a 
great many, all burst out a crying ; but Jeffreys turning towards 
them, said, Ladies, if you did but know what a Villain this is, as 
well as I do, you would say, this Sentence is not half bad enough 
for him. 

Upon passing the Sentence, the Clerk of the Arraigns stood 
up, and said, My Lord, there are a great many Market Towns 
in this County, the sentence reaches to a Whipping about once a 
Fortnight, and he's a very young Man. Aye, says Jeffreys, he's 
a Young Man, but he 's an old Rogue; and all the Interest in 
England shanH reverse the Sentence I have past upon him. 

But certainly no Devil incarnate could rage, nor no Billings- 
gate Woman could scould worse than this Judge did at this 
young Gentleman whilst he was at the Bar ; he call'd him a 
thousand Rogues and Villains, told him that he was a Rebel 
from Adam, that never any of his Family had the least Loyalty ; 
and, said he, / understand you are a Wit and Poet, pray, Sir, 
let you and I cap Verses. Mr. Tut chin smiPd in his Face, and 
told him, He knew upon what Ground he stood, and when he 
was over?natch?d. 

Lying under this Barbarous sentence, Mr. Tutchin's Friends 
endeavoured to persuade him to sue for a pardon ; but he utterly 
refused it, and drew up a Petition with his own Hand, which was 
presented to the King at Winchester, and was as follows : 



To the King's Majesty. 

The Humble Petition of John Tutchin of Lymington 
in the County of Southampton, Gent 9 , now a Prisoner 
in the County Goal of Dorset. 

Sheweth, 

That your Petitioner now lies in this Prison under sentence 
of the Lord Chief Justice Jeffreys, To remain in the said 
Prison during the Space of Seven years, that once every Year 
he shall be whipt through all the Market Towns in Dorsetshire, 



9$r* 3fof)rt ^utcfjfm 273 

that he shall pay a Fine of one hundred Marks to the King, and 
find Security for his good Behaviour during Life. 

That this Sentence was past upon your Petitioner under pre- 
tence of his having changed his Name, and no Matter of Treason 
or Rebellion being proved upon him. 

That your Petitioner has always demeaned himself according 
to his Duty required by Law, and that he is ready to venture his 
Life in Defence of a Lawful King, that shall govern according 
to Law, in preservation of the Liberties of Englishmen. 

That he humbly conceives, the Sentence pass'd upon him by 
the said Jeffreys is worse than death ; and therefore Humbly 
prays your Majesty will be Mercifully pleas'd to grant him the 
Favour of being hang'd with those of his Fellow-Prisoners, that 
are condemned to die ; and till then 

Your Petitioner shall ever pray, &*c. 

John Tutchin. 

And underneath his Name were written these Words — Malim, 
mori quam vapulari. 

You may see by this Petition, that Mr. Tutchin was a young 
Man when he wrote it ; for many Exceptions were made against 
it : To the King's Majesty, instead of the King's most Excel- 
lent Majesty ; and you may be sure, the Western Hangman did 
not overlook his calling of him plain Jeffreys in the Body of the 
Petition. 

But the Court esteem'd it a barbarous Sentence ; and it's said, 
the King esteem'd it no less. But all the Answer could be got, 
was from the Lord Stmderland, That Mr. Tutchin must wait 
with Patience. 

Mr. Tutchin hereupon endeavoured to get a Pardon from the 
People who had Grants of Lives, many of ; em 500, some 1,000, 
more or less, according as they had Interest in the King ; but 
Jeffreys would not so much as hear his Name mentioned, and 
the Sentence was order'd to be executed. 

Four or Five Days before the Execution of the Sentence, a 
Brother in Law of Mr. Tutchins, a Physician, persuaded him to 
take a Dose of Physick to make himself sick, by which Means 
the Execution might be put off, and perhaps in that Time some 
Means might be found for his Enlargement : He took the Dose, 

T 



274 ^&* 9Zlle0tern <3Dran0action& 

and in three or four Days trie Small-pox came out very thick 
upon him, no Man ever had 'em to a higher D,egree ; and in that 
Condition he lay by himself in Prison, no Body to look after 
him but his Fellow-Prisoners, for there being a Pestilential Dis- 
temper in the Prison, of which some Scores died every Week, Jhe 
Magistrates of the Town would not suffer any Communication 
with the Prisoners. 

Mr. Tutchin lying in this miserable Condition, and his Life 
being dis'pair'd of, his Friends work'd the easier with Jeffreys to 
get the Sentence reversed, which some People would have believed 
a Sign of Repentance in Jeffreys, had he not taken the Money 
himself. After Mrs. Tutchin had done this last kind Office for 
her Son, she sickned of the Small-pox, and died, his Brother and 
two Sisters fell sick of the same Distemper ; so that when Mr. 
Tutchin had Friends allow' d to come to him, like Job's Com- 
forters, they brought him the Tidings that his Mother was dead, 
and all the Relations he had in the World were a dying, and 
that they had contracted for a Pardon for more Money than he 
was worth, for a Life which he never valued. So he was popt 
into a Pardon amongst others ; for 'twas usual at that Time for 
one Courtier to get a Pardon of the King for half a Score, and 
then by the Assistance of Jeffreys to augment the Sum to Four- 
score or an Hundred, and so this unfortunate Gentleman 
fortunately got out of his Broil. 

But we must not leave Mr. Tutchin here, tho' what afterwards 
we shall say of him, does not relate to what was transacted 
in the West, yet it may not be amiss to show how the Provi- 
dence of God does often change the Face of Things, and alter 
the Circumstances and Conditions of Men, so that those who 
boast of their Power, and exercise their Authority with the greatest 
Severity, many Times become the Scorn and Contempt of those 
they have triumph 'd over: Who could have thought, when 
Jeffreys past that Sentence on Mr. Tutchin in the West, that 
ever Mr. Tutchin should see that wicked Judge a Prisoner, 
apprehended by the injur'd People, and committed by a Tool of 
his own Party ? Yet it so hapned. 

For Jeffreys endeavouring to make his Escape beyond Sea in 
a Sailor's Habit, was discovered by one, to whom he had done 
some Acts of Injustice, and was taken in Anchor-and-Hope- Alley 



apt;* 3[of)tt Cutcfjfiu 275 

in Wapping, and by the Mob carried before the Instrument of 

Popery, Sir J C- , then Lord Mayor of the City of London, 

and by him committed to the Tower. 

Mr. Tutchin hearing of this, went to give his Lordship a Visit; 
who did not know Mr. Tutchin at first, he being much altered 
with the Small-pox ; but Jeffreys understanding who he was, 
told him, He was glad to see him : Mr. Tutchin answered, He 
was glad to see hi7n in that Place. Jeffreys returned, That Time 
and Place happened to all Men, and that when a Man was born, 
he knew not what Death he should die, nor what his Circum- 
stances should be in this Life, and Abundance of such Cant ; but 
added, That he had served his Master very faithfully, according 
to his Conscience. Mr. Tutchin ask'd him, Where his Conscience 
was when he past that Sentence on him in the West ? Jeffreys 
said, You are a Young Man, and an Enemy to the Government, 
and might live to do Abundance of Mischief; and Hw as part of 
my Instructions, to spare no Man of Courage, Parts, or Estate; 
but withal added, That his Instructions were much more severe 
than the Execution of them, and that at his Return he was snub'd 
at Court for being too merciful. So after he had treated Mr. 
Tutchin with a Glass of Wine, Mr. Tutchin went away. 

Soon after this, Jeffreys had a Barrel of Oysters sent him to 
the Tower, which he caused to be opened, saying, He thantfd 
God he had some Friends left. But when the Oysters were 
tumbled out on the Table, a Halter came out with them, which 
made him change his Countenance, and so palFd his Stomach, 
that he could eat none of them. This was confidently reported 
to be done by Mr. Tutchin; but I having heard him protest that 
he was not in the least concerned therein, we must believe it to 
be done by another Hand. 

The Second in the List of Persons sentenced to be whipt, is 
one William Wiseman, a Boy of about 14 or 15 Years of Age, 
at that time an Apprentice to a Barber at Weymouth. It seems 
the Duke of Monmouth's Declaration was put up in that Town 
in the Night time, and some People who could not read, 
finding it in the Morning, took it down, and this Boy, being 
by, read it to them. This was his Crime, for which Jeffreys 
sentenc'd him to be whipt through all the Market Towns in 
Dorsetshire. 

T 2 



276 %\)t a&legteni ^rangacttong* 

Sentence was accordingly executed first at Dorchester, where 
in Consideration of the Boy's Age he was whipt more gently 
than some People thought convenient. 

Upon which a Clergy-man of the Church of England, named 
Blanchard, came to the Goaler, and reviFd him, saying, He would 
do his Business for him with the Lord Chief Justice, for 
shamming his Sentence, in not whipping the Boy half enough. 
The Goaler breaking out in a Passion said, You talk of the 
Cruelties of the Popish Priests, but commend me to a Church of 
England Priest for Cruelty : They are like the Country Justices, 
who won't believe a Man is burnt in the Hand unless they can 
see a Hole through it. 

Whether this Parson made the Complaint, or no, is uncertain; 
but sure it is, Complaint was made, and the Boy was order'd to 
be whipt again the Morrow following the Day he was whipt 
before ; which, to please this Parson and Jeffreys, was done to 
that Degree, that the Boy fell into a Feaver, which was likely to 
have cost him his Life. After Jeffreys had left the Country, he 
was whipt thro' the Town of Weymouth, and there the Sentence 
terminated. 

The Third in this List was one Edward Jervaise, a Hatter of 
Milbourn Port. This Man, it seems, being in some Company, 
happen'd to say, that he had a Monmouth in his Heart. Upon 
which he was apprehended, and sent to Dorchester Goal. This 
Man was a Criminal in another Respect, which was enough to 
hang any at that Time of Day ; for he had three or four Uncles 
and other Relations in the Duke's Army. I was told one of his 
Uncles, being taken a Prisoner by Kirk, was immediately order'd 
to be hang'd up, but being a brave stout Man, some of KirKs 
Officers interceded for his Life, which Kirk was willing to grant, 
provided he would acknowledge his Rebellion ; which he re- 
fused to do : At length they would release him if he would say, 
God bless King James, which he also refus'd ; and so was hang'd, 
and the last Words he said, was, God bless the Duke of Mon- 
mouth. 

His Nephew Edward, when he came into Court, could not 
deny, that he had Monmouth in his Heart, and thereupon was 
Sentenced to be whipt through all the Market Towns in Dorset- 
shire, paying a Fine to the King. 



2t£r* 3lo!)ix ^utcfjin. 277 

Upon passing of the Sentence, he steps to Mr. Tutchin, 
(then in Court, and who had received Sentence before him) and 
said, Master, I understand the Jig we are to dance well enough j 
but what must we pay this Money for f Mr. Tutchin answered, 
You never knew People dance without Musick, and this Money 
is ordered to pay the Fidlers. Nay, then, says Jervaise, His well 
enough j and went away with the least Concern that could be. 
He was whipt through Dorchester and his own Town, and no 
more. 

The next was a Woman of Lyme, who kept an Ale-house, and 
brew'd her own Drink. Two or three Days after the Duke of 
Monmouth landed, the Excise-Officers came to her House to 
collect the Duties, but she refus'd it, and said, She would pay 
no more Excise till the Duke of Monmouth was King of 
England. For which Crime she was sentenc'd to be whipt 
through all the Market Towns in Dorsetshire, and was whipt 
through Dorchester and Lyme, and no farther. For when 
Jeffreys was gone out of the Country, the Justices were not so 
severe, and conniv'd at the Gaolers stopping Part of the 
Sentences. 

There was another in Dorchester Prison, that was alike 
sentenc'd to be whipt : he profess'd himself to be an Astrologer 
and Physician, but was very unluckily misled by the Stars into 
the Country at this Time ; for coming to a Corporation Town to 
vend his Physick, and tell Fortunes ; the People not knowing 
but that he was a Conjuror indeed, desired him to consult the 
Stars about the Fate of the Duke of Monmouth then in Arms : 
he erected his Scheme, and found that King James would be 
ruin'd and undone, and that the Duke of Monmouth would 
happen to be King in a short Time, which coming to the Magis- 
trates' Ears, they committed him to Prison, where he erected 
another Scheme concerning his own Fate, when he found by 
the Stars that he would be whipt at the Cart's Arse for erecting 
his former Scheme ; which proving true, he could not say that 
the Stars always deceiv'd him. 

Thus I have given you a short Account of the Whipping- 
sentences in Dorchester, which Sentences, together with some 
others executed before that Time, were made one Article against 
the late King James upon the Revolution, and are included in 



278 %ty Mzgmn ^rangactiortg* 

the Bill of Rights j so that no King of England for the future 
can be guilty of such illegal Barbarities without Reflection on 
the Fate of that unhappy Monarch. 

In this Prison at one Time there was in one Room Nineteen 
young Gentlemen, and not one of 'em 21 Years of age, and alLof 
them hang'd, except Mr. Tutchin. 

In this Prison was Major Holmes, who had been a Lieutenant- 
Colonel in the Duke of Monmouth's Service ; he was taken a 
prisoner after the Phillipsnorton Fight, and though his Arm was 
shot to pieces, so that it hung but by a piece of Flesh, the bar- 
barous Soldiers stript him stark naked, and carried him before 
a Justice of Peace, who being at Dinner, ordered him to be kept 
till he had dined. The Servants got the Colonel into the 
Kitchen, and gave him some Cloaths to cover his Nakedness, 
and some Refreshments ; in which Time the Colonel laying his 
scattered Arm on the Dresser, with the Cook-maid's Knife cut 
off his Arm with his own Hand. 

I mention this Gentleman, because perhaps there was never 
more Indignity offered to Grey Hairs and real Worth, than in 
the Person of this Colonel Holmes. One Day he was sitting in 
a little Garden in the Prison with the Hewlings and about three 
more young Gentlemen, when a certain Lord, well known at 
that Time, came and insulted him, and told him, It was a shame 
to see an old man among a Parcel of Boys. Mr. Tutchin told 
his Lordship, That the worst Boy there dtcrst fight him for his 
Life. Said the Colonel, My Lord, these are boys, but they are 
brave Boysj and let me be well mounted in the head of these 
Boys, we'll fight for our Lives your Lordship in the Head of the 
best Troop of Guards. The Indignities offer'd by that Lord was 
far beneath a Gentleman, and suitable to the Courage he show'd 
in the late King's Service ; but when he went from this Company 
to the Common side, he was there as much insulted by one 
Furrard, a Highway-man, who call'd him a thousand Rogues, 
Villains, and Cowards. 

Indeed the Usage of the Prisoners was barbarous enough, the 
Goalers were forc'd to show them up to every little Fellow in 
Authority, so that they were daily insulted, and paid dear enough 
for every Thing they had ; but what was most barbarous, they 
would not allow their Relations to come to them in the Time of 



Si l&etrogpect, $c* 279 

their sickness, so that many died for want of Help in a Pesti- 
lential Distemper, the like perhaps was never known. The Small- 
pox at that Time was the worst that was known, very few re- 
covered of it. Mrs. Mary Blake, a young Lady of Taunton, 
who was committed to this Prison for making the Colours pre- 
sented to the Duke of Monmouth, died of this Distemper, to 
the great Grief of her Family: as did several others. 

But the greatest Persecutors and Insulters of these poor 
People were the Country Parsons : They did not preach to the 
Spirits in Prison, but they revil'd e'm. One of 'em, when he 
heard some condemned Persons in Prayer just before their Ex- 
ecution, said, These Fellows will pray the Devil out of Hell j 
and the Prison was seldom free of the Black- Coats. 

But, Thanks be to God, we now speak of these Things only, 
and don't see 'em : and that those who are now living, though 
they have lost their Estates, yet they see what they contended 
for, I mean their Liberty and Property established. 



Thus have we given you an Account of what happened in 
the WEST (in the Year 85), being in every Point Truth ; we 
shall next give a short Touch of the Civilities the poor Sufferers 
received from the City of Exon, which deserves an everlasting 
Remembrance : Most sorts of Provisions, as hot Broth, boyled 
Meat, roast Meat, divers sorts of Pies, were daily sent into the 
Prison ; the Persons that sent them unknown to them. Also 
if any Person was sick, there should be a Nurse to attend him ; 
also a Physician and Chyrurgeon to attend when Occasion was. 
'Tis said, He that giveth to the Poor, lendeth to the Lordj 
the Lord return them an Hundredfold. 

Thus, Reader, by the Help of God, we are come to an End of 
our long Journey, from the Year 1678 to 1685. The Way all 
along has been full of Dirt and Blood, and therefore no Wonder 
if the Wheels have driven somewhat heavily. 'Twill be worth 
thy while as well as mine, to look upon the different Stages we 
have taken, which is one of the greatest Pleasures of a Traveller, 
who finds Delight in reflecting even on that which formerly 
gave him Pain and Trouble. He who first broke the Way, was 



280 %\)t Witmvn Crangacttong* 

Sir Edmund-bury Godfrey, according to his own Prophesie, 
That he should be the #ir£t .JjBartpt. Mr. Arnold was like to 
follow him, but that intended stroke not coming home enough, 
they resolved to lay the Foundation firmer, and so struck lower, 
and began with Stephen Colledge at Oxford, who before his 
Death, said, That it tuotffc not stop t&ere, nor his Death satisfie 
those who thirsted after Blood; as appeared plain enough, when 
they had.got a Plot and Plotters to their Minds, who made it 
their Business, as Walcot tells Cartwright, to invite Men to 
their Meetings, to importune 'em to their Meetings, as it 
appears, to talk madly and treasonably at those Meetings, and 
because they were a little too brave to do the same by them, 
after all to deliver them up to be hang'd for coming thither, 
by which Design many of the boldest Patrons of their Country 
and Religion were destroyed ; to whose Death an infamy was 
added greater than that of those who publickly suffered. Russel 
follow'd but too closely after him, who says in his Speech, He 
wishes the Rage of hot Men and particular Juries might be 
stopt with his Blood, which he would offer up with much 7nore 
Joy, if he thought he should be the Last that were to suffer in 
such a Way. About the same Time died Walcot, and some 
others. Col. Sidney came after, one of the first that ever lost 
his Head by Innuendo's, and who died, as he was told, because 
else the Plot must have died. Holloway came next, brought 
from f other world to be hang'd in this ; whose ingenuous Con- 
fession did his Business, there being too many bold Truths in't, 
which some Men could not bear, for him ever to expect a 
Pardon. But how many Lies besides there might be in his 
Confession, or others, 'tis impossible to know, unless we knew, 
not only whose Hands they came through, but how they were 
used. And as he from another World, so Armstrong was 
brought from another Country, to be paid for all his Service to 
the Royal Family, in their Exile and afterwards. And tho' he 
was not hang'd first, and trfd afterwards, yet what's much the 
same, was ha?tg'd without ever being try'd at all. Next to this 
we took a View of the Design of that unfortunate Gentleman who 
landed in the West, and of those who embark'd in it, and how 
far they were justifiable ; where follows a particular Account of 
some of the most eminent amongst 'em, and a more general one 



& l&etrogfpect, $c* 281 

of the rest ; which though it might have perhaps been more 
accurate, yet 'twas thought better to keep near those loose 
Papers already publish'd on that Matter, of which this Book is 
a sort of a second Edition j and to give that Account in the 
same inartificial Dress which 'twas delivered in by some honest 
Country-men, who were personally present at most of the 
Actions and Sufferings there mention'd. And among all these, 
nothing is more remarkable than what we have taken particular 
Notice of. The strong Persuasion and Belief in which almost 
all of e'm dy'd, That God would accomplish the great Work of 
delivering their Country and Religion some other Way, though 
he was not pleased to accept of their Endeavours. At the 
Return from the Western Circuit, that London might have 
a little sprinkling of their Mercy, the pious and prudent 
Mr. Cornish .was sacrificed ; all whose Time of Preparation for 
that which must be call'd his Trial, was from Saturday to Mon- 
day, whose Courage and Constancy at his Death, and that 
dreadful Storm which spoke the Displeasure of Heaven in such 
loud Language after ; twas over, were as much the Wonder of 
England, as the next and last merited their Pity, poor Bateman, 
who had intirely lost his Reason by his Imprisonment, and the 
Accidents thereof. But besides all these, and some others, 
there were some who had Trials of Cruel Mockings and 
Scourgings, were expos'd in the Pillory, and worse than whipt 
to Death, though sometimes even that not thought sufficient, 
without actual Assassination. 

Upon the intire Review of all this dreadful Scene of Blood 
and Horror, especially that relating to the Western Affairs, 
what can be a more natural and useful Reflection, than for us 
hence to learn, by Wounds of our own, yet green and bleeding, 
the true undissembled Kindness of prevailing Popery, and 
Popish Councils, and what all Protestants, of what Character 
and Denomination soever, must expect thence, when rampant 
and powerful? How can we chuse but see, unless we have 
winkt our selves quite blind, that the Hand of the same Joab 
has been in all this ? That 'twas the famous D. of Y., who was 
at first as deep in Godfreys Murther, as in the Fire of London j 
the same who was at Helm all along after, and as good as man- 
aged the Executioners' Axes and Halters for so many Years. 



282 <3p&e Wlt&mn %van$attion$+ 

'Twas he who was so near at Essex's Murther, and who hindered 
so carefully my L. Russel from his Pardon ; who was the Staff, 
the Hope, the Moses, the Gideon of the Popish Plot and Party, 
and the eager and inveterate Enemy to the very Name of a true 
Protestant. He who shewed so much Mercy to the poor West- 
Country Men, Women, and Children, destroying so many 
Hundreds in cold Blood, and hardly sparing one Man that 
could write and read, by his L. Chief Hangman, Jeffreys. 
Lastly, he who was falling upon his own best Friends, who are 
now sensible they lov'd him to a Fault, and carried their 
Loyalty to such a H eighth for his Service, as is now better for- 
gotten, since no Party can entirely clear themselves even of that 
Imputation. He who fell upon them, and our Religion and 
Laws, and whatever was dear to us, with the greatest and most 
open Violence ; and because he could not have his Will, and be 
a French King in England, resolv'd to leave us to the Mercy 
of his own unkenelPd Irish, and go to France, to be there as 
Absolute a Slave as he here would have made us. And yet this 
is the self-same Person whose pretended Son some are still so 
zealous for, as if they had not yet had enough of Popery. 

But whilst these Haters of themselves, as well as their 
Religion and Country, must be left to Man's Justice and God's 
Vengeance, let's address the Conclusion of these Papers to all 
True Honest Men, of good Principles, and firm to the Protestant 
Religion, and persuade them to pray heartily for our Glorious 
Queen ANNE, and Fight for her as heartily too, as all these 
Martyrs, no doubt, would gladly have done. If some of them 
should not be entirely satisfied with whatever has happened in 
this great Change, yet to remember at the lowest the Diity of 
Subjects; to think all the Nation may see more than they ; to 
pay Allegiance where they find Protection ; to reflect on our 
almost too happy Condition, compared with that of Germany, 
Italy, &c, and where-ever the French and Popish Arms and 
Counsels prevail : to honour the Memory of these Martyrs, 
who suffered for their vigorous Appearance against them ; and 
lastly, to thank God sincerely and in good Earnest, that we 
may now, if Occasion be, defend our Religion and Liberties with 
our Swords, which they could only do by laying down their 
Lives. 



AN IMPARTIAL 



HISTORY 



OF THE 



LIFE AND DEATH 



OF 



GEORGE Lord JEFFREYS, 



LATE 



LORD CHANCELLOR OF ENGLAND. 



TO 



GEORGE Lord JEFFREYS, 



LATE 




Lord Chancellour of England. 

MY LORD, 

KNOW not to whom I could more properly Dedicate 
a Treatise of this Nature than to your Lordship, who 
lately was Lord Chief Justice of England, and have 
set such Presidents to inferior Magistrates. What is 
here offered, may serve as a Mirrour, into which future Adminis- 
trators of Publick Justice would do well to look ; for you may 
remember, my Lord, if your Lordship's present Afflictions have 
not made you forget as much Law as you ever learned) Common 
Law runs much upon Presidents : And if a Man happen to have 
none of the best Physiognomy, there is no Reason why he should 
streight grow angry, and fling Stones to break all the Looking- 
Glasses he meets with, only because they represent the true 
Figure of the Object. 

My Lord, The following Treatise is a true Account of your 
Lordship's Life and Actions (most of which are ready to be 
attested) of your unheard-of Cruelties and barbarous Proceed- 
ings in your whole Western Circuit : In which all may see at 
what a dear Rate our Western Martyrs purchased their Religion, 
and how it cost those Glorious Sufferers, who so lately went off 
the Stage (under your Lordship's Sentence) both Whippings 
and cruel Imprisonments, and the most exquisite Tortures 
which none could invent nor inflict but your Lordship, (whose 



286 Wi\z Qgptgtle 3DeDtcator^ 

good Nature is sufficiently experienced) nor any endure but 
those whose Gallant and Noble Souls were born up with 
Heavenly Cordials and a Power from on high. But, my Lord, 
rest assured, that their Blood still cries for Vengeance, and will 
be a lasting Monument of your Lordship's Cruelties, whilst 
History can speak or transmit to Posterity the Remarkables of 
elapsed Ages ; for to Hang, Draw, and Quarter, and Try Men 
afterwards, (witness Sir Thomas Armstrong's Death, dr^c.) has 
been your peculiar Talent. But your Lordship will now at last 
do well to remember that King Alfred caused Forty Four 
Judges in One Year to be hang'd as Murderers, for their false 
Judgments. 

I hope your Lordship will pardon this present Address, 
seeing 'tis a Priviledge we modern Authors hold by Prescription, 
to put any Great Man's Name in the Front of our Book : 
Princes have not been able to exempt themselves or their 
Families from the Persecution of Dedications; nor ever was 
there (I humbly conceive) any Rule made in your Lordship's 
Court to prohibit them. 

Suffer then, I beseech your Lordship, this Address to remain 
a Monument to Posterity, of the Sentiments this Age has of 
your Lordship's Conduct and Merits ; and Witness to all the 
World how much its Author is 

Your Lordship's 

Humble Servant, 

JAMES BENT. 



A POEM 



Dedicated to the 



MEMORY 




OF 



GEORGE Lord JEFFREYS. 

CANNOT hold, hot struggling Rage aspires, 
And crowds my free-born Breast with noble Fires ; 
Whilst prudent Fools squeak Treason through the 
Nose, 

And whine a quivering Vote in sneaking Prose 

My Muse soars out of Reach, and dares despise 

What e'er below attempts to Tyrannize, 

Though I by some base Nero should be clad 

In such a Gown as the old Christians had, 

In Clouds of Satyr up to Heaven Pd roul, 

For he could burn my Shell but not my Soul. 

Though Nature her auspicious Aid refuse, 

Revenge and Anger shall inspire my Muse : 

Nature has given me a complaining Part, 

And murdered Protestants a resenting Heart. 

Then Room for Bloody Jeffreys, or he'll swear 

By all the Afts from St. Cadwalladar ; 

Prutus hur creat Cranfather, if hur enquire, 

And Adam's Cranfather was Prutus s Sire. 

Famous ab Shenkin was hur elder Brother, 

Some Caledonian Sycorax hur Mother : 



288 sl $ozm to tlje pernor? 

Or some she De'il more damn'd than all the rest, 

At their black Feast hur lustful Sire comprest : 

Thence do I think this Cacodemon rose, 

Whose wrathful Eyes his inward Baseness shows ; 

His Shape is all inhuman and uncouth, 

But yet he's chiefly Devil about the MOUTH j 

With Care this Brat was nurs'd for fear it shou'd 

Grow tame, and so degen'rate into good, 

With City Charters he was wrapp'd about, 

And Acts of Parliament for Swaddling-clout : 

As he grew up, he won a Noble Fame, 

For which Squire Ketch hath sworn him publick Shame. 

And won't it be a pretty Sight to see't, 

The Hang-man, Rope, and Bloody Jeffreys meet ? 

Jeffreys, who cherisht Spite, as all can tell ; 

Jeffreys, who was the darling Brat of Hell. 

Oft with Success, this mighty Blast did bawl, 

Where loudest Lungs, and biggest Words win all ; 

And still his clenched Arguments did end 

With that home-thrust, He is not Caesar's Friend, 

Sometimes, that jaded Ears he might release, 

Good Man ! he has been fee'd to hold his Peace. 

Hear him, but never see him, and you'd swear 

He was the Crier, not the Counseller ; 

He roars, as if he only chanc'd to find 

Justice was now grown deaf, as well as blind, 

This Demy-Fiend, this Hurricane of Man, 

Was sent to butcher all i' th' West he can. 

'Twas him the Popish Party wisely chose 

To splutter Law, and the dinn'd Rabble pose ; 

They have a thousand Tongues, yet he can roar 

Far louder, tho' they had a thousand more, 

Unto long-winded Cook he scorns to go, 

But pleads, His Majesty will have it so. 

He's for all Mischief set, by Nature bred ; 

He rails at all before him, and is fed 

Hyama-like, by tearing up the Dead. 

Th' unluckiest Satyrist alive, that still 

Writes his own Character in all that's ill. 



of (Bzovq! %orD 3[effr^0. 289 

Of all the World most fit a Vice t'expose, 
That all its Cause, Effects, and Motions knows, 
Stranger to none can no Advantage lose. 
Big with Conceit the empty Shape looks great. 
His own dear self obligingly doth treat ; 
Rewards his Soul in any Garb will lap, 
His ductile Soul will put on any Shape : 
Vice hath his Patronage, and there's no Fear, 
But Hell in time may his Protection share, 
The rather 'cause the God of Gold is there. 
He courts loud Rumour, but lets Truth alone, 
Conscious of Guilt, he shuns being justly known, 
And by's oft changing flyes a Definition 
Learn'd, but in 111 ; Ingenious, but in Spite ; 
Virtuous ,by Accident, by Chance a Wit ; 
Modest when Beat ; in Suffering Valiant ; 
Honest when Forc'd ; and Moderate when in Want ; 
True, but for Interest ; Civil but for Dread ; 
Devout for Alms ; and Loyal, but for Bread. 
Thy Mushroom Greatness I dare now arraign, 
For all thy Hectoring now will be in vain. 
Here, take this Pass, ere we for ever part ; 
Then run, and then fare well with all my Heart. 
The Lawyers yelling in their feign'd debate, 
And the fleec'd Client's Wisdom, all too late ; 
The keeping Cully's Jealousie and Care, 
The slighted Lover's Maggots and Despair ; 
A Woman's Body every Day to dress, 
A fickle Soul, little as theirs, or less ; 
The Courtier's Business, the Impudence o' th' Stage, 
And the defeated Father Peter's Rage ; 
A Clock-work Spouse with loud eternal Clack, 
A Shop i' th Change still ty'd to What d'ye lack ? 
Worse than these last, if any Curses more 
Ovid e'er knew, or fiercer Oldham } s store ; 
'Till not one Part in Body or Soul be free. 
May all their barbed Vengeance show'r on thee : 
Pressed with their weight, long may'st thou raving lye, 
Envying an Halter, but not dare to die ; 

u 



290 si poem to tfje Memory, $c* 

And when condemn'd thou dost thy Clergy plead, 
Some frightful Fiend deny thee Power to read ; 
Madness, Despair, Confusion, Rage, and Shame 
Attend you to the Place fro7n whence you came : 
To Tyburn thee let Carrion Horses draw, 
In jolting Cart, without so much as straw ; 
Jaded, may they lye down i' th' the road, and tirM, 
And (worse than one fair Hanging) twice beimYd, 
May'st thou be maul'd with Pulcher's Sexton's Sermon, 
'Till thou roar out for Hemp-sake, Drive on, Car-man ; 
Pelted and Curst i' th' Road by every one, 
E'en to be hang'd may'st thou the Gauntlet run. 
Not one good Woman who in Conscience can 
Cry out — Tis pity — Troth, a proper Man. 
Stupid and dull, may'st thou rub off like Hone* 
Without an open or a smother'd Groan : 
May the Knot miss the Place, and fitted be 
To plague and Torture, not deliver thee ; 
Be half a Day a dying thus, and then 
Revive like Savage, to be hanged agen. 

In Pity now thou shalt no longer live; 
For when thus satisfy* d } I can forgive. 

JOHN CARTER. 







KHT^S 


181 


kS^SSii 









THE 



LIFE and DEATH 



OF 



GEORGE Lord JEFFREYS. 




EADER, Think it not strange if I present you 
with the memorable Life and Actions of a Person 
so well known in this great Kingdom : And 
peradventure Fame has not been silent in other 
Countries, especially since he has been advanced to be a 
Chief Minister of State, and sat, as it were, steering at the 
Helm of Government. Various indeed are the Changes of 
worldly Affairs, and the Actions of Humane Life, which have 
been more particularly exemplified in the Rise and Fall of the 
Person, the Subject of this Discourse ; who from almost a mean 
Obscurity, soar'd to the lofty Pyramid of Honour ; where for a 
while, like an unfixed Star, he appeared to the Eyes of the 
wondring Nation, giving an imperfect Lustre ; till by the sud- 
den Turn and Change of unsteady Fortune he dropt headlong 
from his Sphere, and lost at once his Grandeur and his Power. 
To let Mankind see how little Trust there is to be given to the 
Smiles of flattering Greatness, especially when attained by 
violent and pressing Motions : I now proceed to trace this un- 
fortunate Favourite in the sundry Capacities and Stations that 
have hitherto made up the Series of his Life. 

He was born at Acton, near W rex am, in Denbighshire, in 

U 2 



292 W&z %ilt anli 2Deatjj of 

Wales, about the Year 1648, his Father's Name was 

Jeffreys, being reputed a Gentleman in that Country, though of 
no large Fortune or Estate ; however he lived very comfortably 
on what he had, improving his yearly Income by his Industry ; 
and gain'd by his plain and honest Endeavours a good Repute 
amongst the Gentry of those Parts ; insomuch that it was not 
long before he, upon the Recommendation of some Person of 
Interest and Ability, -gain'd a Wife of a good House ; and they 
lived very comfortably together in their Rural Habitation, 
being far from Ambition, or striving for Court-favour ; but con- 
tented with what God had blessed them with, and the Fruits of 
their own Industry, they found a solid Happiness in that Con- 
tentment. Nor had they lived together any considerable Time, 
but amongst other Children, the Fruits of Wedlock, God was 
pleased to bestow on them the Person who is intended the Sub- 
ject of this Discourse, who was in due Time baptized by the 
Christian Name of George; whether he had Godfathers, &c. it 
does not occur ; however, he under the Care and Diligence of 
his Industrious Parents grew up, and appear'd to all that 
studied him, of a very prompt and ready Wit, active, and striv- 
ing for Pre-eminence, even among his Compeers in his tender 
Age, which lively demonstrated that an Air of Ambition was 
inherent to his Person. 

As soon as he was capable to receive Learning, he was put to 
a Country-School, where he was furnished with such Education 
as that afforded, which was not extraordinary ; yet his natural 
Parts set it off to the best Advantage ; and growing to Years of 
somewhat a ripe Understanding, and not very tractable, his 
Father by the Advice of some of his Confidents, caused him to 
be brought to London, and finding him not inclinable to any 
Trade, but rather addicted to Study, he entred him, or by his 
Procurement he was entered into the Free-School of West- 
minster, where he profited much, so that he was, by the Care 
of the worthy Master thereof, soon enabled to understand the 
Languages, or at least so many of them as were convenient for 
the Study of the Law, which above other Things he aimed at ; 
tho' his Father seemed not very pliable to his Desires ; for per- 
ceiving in his Soul a more than ordinary Spark of Ambition, 
fearing it might kindle into a Flame, and prove one Day his 



<$zov$z Ilort) 3l^ffre?^ 293 

Ruin, he laboured to hinder the Ways he conceived most likely 
to bring it upon him ; and is reported to say (when he found he 
could not dissuade him from what he purposed, gently clapping 
him on the Back), Ah, George, George, I fear thou wilt die 
with thy Shoes and Stockings on : What he meant by that 
Expression, I determine not, but leave the Reader to interpret. 

Upon the coming in of King Charles the Second, and the 
restoring the Face of Affairs in the Kingdom, the Law revived 
again, and began to flourish ; the Practitioners lived in much 
Credit and Reputation, and many of them purchased large 
Estates, which served to wing the Desire of this Person with 
Impatience ; and some say he was the rather incited to it by a 
Dream he had whilst a Scholar at Westminster-School, viz. 
That he should be the chief scholar in that School, and after- 
ward should enrich himself by Study and Industry, and that hi 
should co7iie to be the second Man in the Kingdom, but in 
Conclusion should fall into great Disgrace and Misery, This 
w r as confidently reported ; and some say himself told it to sun- 
dry Persons since, when he found the second Part of it was 
fulfilled, by acquiring the Chance I lours hip y and standing high in 
the Favour of his Prince. 

However, we find the latter Part did not deter him from his 
Purpose, for having entred himself in the Inner-Temple House, 
one of the chief Inns of Court, after his performing such Things 
as are conformable to the Customs of the House, we find him 
calFd to the Bar, by the Interest he made with the Benchers 
and Heads of that Learned Society, earlier than had been usual, 
leaping over the Heads of elder Graduates. 

This happening about the twentieth Year of the Reign of 
King Charles the Second, and the City of London beginning to 
raise herself out of her Ashes, more stately and magnificent 
than before she sunk in Flames, a Sacrifice to the Revenge and 
Malice of the Papists, as by the late Inscription on the Monu- 
ment, and upon Record it appears : This great City, I say, 
regaining her Trade, her Priviledges and Customs were kept 
up with great Exactness, so that in the Courts at Guild-Hall 
there was much Business ; which being considered by this Per- 
son as more beneficial than that at Westminster, by Reason of 
its Frequency, and being carried on briefer, and with less Diffi- 



294 *3£&e %iU anli 2DeatI) of 

culty ; which induced him to give his Attendance also at Hick's- 
Hall, and other inferiour Courts and Places ; insomuch that he 
being of a bold Presence, and having naturally a fluent Tongue, 
an audible Voice, and good utterance, he had not pleaded often 
before he was very much taken Notice of, and gain'd so much 
Credit by the People, that they preferred him before any of the 
younger Barristers; by which means he found his Stars begin 
to smile upon him, so that he was in a manner courted to take 
Fees, and had Breviates thrust into his Hand frequently in the 
middle of a Course by Persons, when they perceived it went ill 
on their Sides, and was like to go against them. 

Thus flush'd with Success, he now thought of nothing more 
than how he might climb ; nor did he want an Opportunity ; for 
the next Station we find him in, is that of Common Serjeant to 
the great and honourable City of London; and so much Fortune 
favoured him at this Time, that Alderman Jeffreys, the great 
Smoaker, having often observed his Discourse and Actions, took 
such a liking to him, that being of the same Name, tho ? not in the 
least any Relation, be back'd him with his Purse and Interest, 
which was not inconsiderable ; and thereby not only enabled 
him to carry on his Grandeur, but to purchase as he found a 
Conveniency or Advantage, in order to his keeping it up in the 
World. 

These, I say, being the Degrees by which he was climbing 
the slippery Stair of Honour, to contract a firmer Alliance, he 
addressed himself to a brisk young Widow, Daughter to Sir 
Thojnas Bludworth, then one of the Aldermen of the City, and 
who in the Time of the dreadful Conflagration had the Chair, 
as being then Lord Mayor; and so far prevaiPd upon the Lady 
and her Father, that he gained both their Consents, and the 
Contract was made, the Nuptials solemnized, And soon after he 
had the Pleasure to behold the Fruits of her Labour. Sir John 
Howel, the Recorder of London, giving Place, the Recordership 
became vacant, which made this Person lay hold of that Oppor- 
tunity, to use his own and the Interest of his Friends, to acquire 
that Place of Trust and Honour : Nor did his Measures fail 
him, for by the powerful Influence he had by this Time gain'd 
over sundry Persons, who were best able to promote him to 
what he so earnestly laboured to arrive at, he was chosen and 



(&m$t Horti 9|effre?0. 295 

confirmed Recorder of the honourable City ; taking upon him 
the Charge and Care of the Writings, Papers, &*c. that belong 
to so great a Charge and Trust, as that of a Recorder of the 
City of London. 

By this Means being become (as himself declared) the Mouth 
of the City, and, as we may term him, Capital Judge in the 
Guild-Hall, in Controversies at the Sessions held there, &>c. 
and the Power of breathing forth Sentences of Punishment 
being put into his Hands, he found his Ambition enlarged, aim- 
ing at nothing more than to become a Court-Favourite : Nor 
was it long before an Opportunity offered itself, to make him to 
be taken Notice of: For so it happened, that some Persons 
had imprinted a Psalter, and entituled it (the better to shadow 
the Injury they had done to the Company of Stationers, by 
invading their Property) The King's Psalter, which occasioning 
a Dispute, it was referred to a Hearing before the Council at 
Whitehall, the King being present, and the Company the better 
to make out their Title and Claim, carried with them this 
Person as their Counsel, who in opening of the Case, and mak- 
ing the Complaint of the apparent Injury done to the Company, 
in printing what was really their Property, he had this Expresson, 
viz. They have teemed with a spurious Brat, which being clan- 
destinely midwiv'd into the World, the better to cover the Im- 
posture, they lay it at your Majesty 's Door, &c. This tho' the 
King might have taken it (for sundry Reasons) as a Reflection 
upon his Royal Person, yet he was so far from resenting it that 
Way, that he only turned to one of the Lords that sat next him, 
and said, This is a bold Fellow III warrant him. And indeed 
the Stationers had the Matter declar'd by the Honourable 
Board in their Favour. 

About this Time the Popish Plot being discovered by Dr. 
Oates and others, the Nation was for a while in a Ferment, and 
Matters run extreamly high in Disputes and Controversies, and 
he sail'd with the Current, declaring with much Heat and 
Violence against the Priests, Jesuites, and others of the Con- 
spirators and Romish Faction ; as appeared not only by his 
vehement Expressions in pleading against 'em, but the Alacrity 
and little Concern that was visible in his Countenance, when 
at any Time, as Recorder of London, he past Sentence of Death 



296 %$z Jiitz ana 3Deatt) of 

upon any of them, which he frequently did with more or less 
Reproach, and became in a Manner the Terror of that Party. 
But no sooner he perceived the Wind tacking at Court, and 
that there was some Misunderstanding between King Charles 
the Second and his Parliament, but he began to fall off, and 
grow cold in prosecuting the Ends of the Government, being 
frequently at Court, and labouring as much as in him lay to 
draw the Magistracy of the City after him ; as appears more 
especially by one Passage, viz. The King being recovered of 
an Indisposition, that had for some Time put the Kingdoms in 
a Fear and Doubt of his Life, the Lord Mayor and Aldermen 
went to congratulate him upon his going abroad; after which, 
and a favourable Reception, it was proposed by this Person, 
that they should in like manner wait upon his Royal Highness, 
then Duke of York, who was not long before returned from 
Flanders; but perceiving no Forwardness to be seconded, he 
only with his Father-in- Law stayed behind to gain that Access. 
These and other Proceedings created in the City a Jealousie, 
that he had espoused an Interest to their Prejudice, which 
wrought so strong in their Conceits, that it was concluded in 
the Council-chamber at Guild-Hall, that he should resign his 
Recordership ; and accordingly they sent to him to deliver back 
the Papers and Writings they had entrusted him with, which 
accordingly was done, and Sir George Treby constituted Recorder 
in his stead. 

This so netled him, that he now openly declared himself to 
be what before was only suspected, indulging his Thoughts in 
nothing more, than how he might revenge it upon the Dissenters, 
to whose Influence on the Court of Aldermen he attributed his 
Dismission from the Recordership, and used his Endeavours to 
blacken them us much as he could. Yet all his Honour was 
not sunk; for he had prevailed for the Removal of Sir Job 
Charleton from the Chief Justiceship of the County Palatine of 
Chester, and by the Importunity and Interest of his Party at 
Court, gained it for himself; and took the first Possession of 
that Charge in much Splendour, paying at that Time his 
Father a Visit with a numerous Train, which, as 'tis reported, 
put the Old Gentleman in such a Fret, for the drinking up his 
Cider, and devouring his Provisions, that he charged him with 



(Bzovqz HorD 3feffrepgf- 297 

the undertaking to ruin him, by bringing a whole Country at 
his Heels, commanding him never to attempt the like Prodi- 
gality again with Hopes of Success. 

Many Petitions being put up upon the dissolving the Parlia- 
ment, in 1682, by most of the Counties, and Burroughs, and 
Corporations of England, for the speedy calling another, to 
redress the Grievances of the Nation ; and the King shewing 
some Dislike of that Manner of Proceeding, this Person further 
to endear himself to the Interest of the Court, declared in his 
Station as vehemently against them, by saying, He abhorred 
that Petitioning, &c. from which, and the discountenancing the 
Petitioners as much as in him lay, he gained the Name and Epithet 
of an Abhorrerj and upon the burning the Pope in Effigies at 
Temple-Bar, upon the Birth-day of Queen Elizabeth, amongst other 
Figures, the Arch-waggs had set one on Horseback with his Face 
to the Tail, and a Paper on his Back, viz. I am an Abhorrer. 

During these Transactions, the Parliament being called, met 
at Westminster, and amongst others, this Person was calPd 
before them, for attempting to intrench upon the Rights and 
Priviledges of the People, &*c. and obliged at the Bar of the 
Commons House (after having been heard what he could say in 
Defence of his Proceedings by his Council), to make his Ac- 
knowledgment upon his Knees, and receive the Reprimand of 
the Speaker, whereupon, with some sharp Rebukes, as the 
Censure of the House, he was discharged. 

To comfort him in this Affliction, that was not, by a Man of 
his haughty Spirit, a little stomached; this Parliament being 
dissolved, and a call of Serjeants had at the King*s-Bench-Bar, 
Westminster, he was the first in the Roll, and consequently the 
King's Serjeant ; and as it is usual to present the King with a 
Ring on that Occasion, the Motto he agreed to, was, A Deo Rex, 
a Rege Lex; viz., The King from God, and the Law fro7n the 
King. And now the Popish Party playing their Cards with 
more Security, Edward Fitz-Harris, who had been impeached 
by the Commons, and stood charged by them of High-Treason 
being nevertheless, upon the Dissolution, tried at the King > s- 
Bench-Bar, this Person was the principal Stickler against him, 
and by his Rhetorick and Florid Expressions, wrought so 
powerfully with the Jury, who were somewhat in Doubt what 



298 %$t TiiU anti SDeatf) of 

they should do in this Case, that they found him Guilty, and 
the Impeachment in Parliament set aside, he was executed as 
a Traitor at Tyburn : And soon after this, the Dissenters losing 
of their Esteem in the Eyes of the Court-Party, and some Jus- 
tices of Peace of Middlesex being sharp upon them, this Person 
was chosen Chairman at the Sessions at Hick's- Hall, where he 
had an Opportunity to make them as he found his Time, see 
the Resentments of his Anger ; but this Place being held too 
low for a Spirit winged with so large an Ambition, he aimed 
at higher Things, resolving, like Icarus, to be near the Sun, 
tho ? at the Hazard of melting his waxen Wings, dropping 
headlong into the Sea of inevitable Ruin. Whereupon per- 
ceiving some hot Contests in the City of London, about the 
Election of Magistrates and Officers, he turned the Edge of 
his Fury that Way, insomuch, that a Quo Warranto came 
down against the Charter of the Honourable City of London, 
and in fine, after much Pleading and Arguments pro &> contra, 
the Charter was surrendred, at least in Consent, by those that 
were in Power, and the King suspending the Execution of the 
Judgment obtained, caused such Orders to be observed as he 
thought most convenient, which being so well known to the 
Citizens of London, it would appear a Presumption in me to 
enter upon Particulars ; yet the chiefest Cavil against the City 
was, taking the Toll of Markets, collecting Money to build 
Cheapside Conduit, S^c. Nor was it long after this, that several 
Persons were tried for Rioters, who attended the Election of 
Sheriffs and Mayor, and Fines were passed upon many worthy 
Citizens, as Rioters on that Occasion ; in promoting which, this 
Person as a Counsellor by his florid Rhetorick was mainly in- 
strumental, by giving the Court an Account of their respective 
Abilities, the better to settle the Fines; but the Lord Chief 
Justice Saunders dying, he succeeded him as Lord Chief Justice 
of the Kings' -Bench; in which Station he was scarcely settled, 
but he admitted the Popish Lords to Bail, that lay under an 
Impeachment in Parliament, and whose bailing had been 
refused by the Judges his Predecessors ; and now it was 
that he began more particularly to remember former Affronts, 
an Example of which take in the Case of Elias Best, a Hop- 
Merchant in Thames-street, viz. 



(Beorge Horti 3|tffrep& 299 

It so happened when this Person was Recorder of London, 
that a Jury, of which Best was one, having contrary to his 
Mind, acquitted a Party indicted at the Sessions of Peace in 
Guild-hall, for Printing and Publishing a Pamphlet, he in much 
Heat -declared, that they had gone contrary to their Consciences, 
and §tuck not to upbraid them with Perjury ; for which, as an 
high Affront put upon the Juries of London, they prayed the 
Court at the Old B ally, that they might prefer an Indictment 
against him ; and herein Mr. Best was the most active : But the 
Lord Chief Justice Scroggs then upon the Bench, after it had 
been a long Time argued and debated, told them, that the 
Sessions being almost at an End, it could not be tried, and 
therefore he would desire them to refer it to the next Sessions, 
for the Recorder being a Person of Quality, he could not suffer 
him to lye under the Imputation of an Indictment so long ; but 
in the interim, he resigning his Recordership, the Business fell, 
and came to nothing ; but soon after it seems, Mr. Best had 
drank an Health to the pious Memory of Stephen Colledge 
departed, meaning the Joyner that was executed at Oxford, for 
which he was indicted upon an Information, and found Guilty ; 
yet he being at large, thought fit to withdraw himself to avoid 
the Rigour of the Fine, &*c. when so it fell out, that this Person 
going the Circuit as Lord Chief Justice, accompanied with a 
great many on Horseback, Mr. Best came by, and asked one of 
the Company what Judge that was ? Who replied, the Lord 
Chief Justice Jeffreys, and he unadvisedly told that Party his 
Name was Best, and desired him to remember his Service to his 
Lordship ; upon notice of which he immediately caused him to 
be fetched back, and committed him to York Goal, from whence 
he was brought by Habeas Corpus to the King's-Bench, and 
imprisoned for a Fine of ^500, &r*c. Another instance of the 
Greatness of his Stomach, tho' in another Nature, is that which 
so remarkably happened at Kingston upon Thames, at the Mid- 
summer-Assizes held there for the County of Surrey, 1679. At 
this Assize being Counsel in a Case upon Nisi prius, before Sir 
Richard Weston, one of the Barons of the Exchequer, and 
desiring to ingross all the Questions, without suffering those on 
the other Side to ask the Witness what was convenient in 
carrying on, and managing the Cause ; he was desired by the 



300 %%% JLilt anD 2Deat1) of 

Judges to hold his Tongue, &>c. upon which some Words pass- 
ing, this Person told him, He did not use him like a Counsellor, 
curbing him in the managing his Breviates, &c. to which the 
Judge fiercely replied, Ha / Since the King has thrown his 
Favours upon you, in making you Chief Justice of Chester, 
you think to run down every Body ; if you find yourself 
aggrieved, make your Complaint, her 'e } s no Body cares for it. 
And this Person replying, That he had not been used to make 
Complaints, but rather stopped those that were made; when 
being again commanded to hold his Tongue, he sat down and 
wept for Anger, &c. And here by the way it will not be amiss 
to let the Reader have a Taste of some Passages that happened 
on the publick Stage of Business, in the Jocular part of this 
great Man's Life, and the Repartees he met with, of which I 
shall instance a few : 

Once it happened upon a Trial, that a plain Country fellow, 
giving Evidence in the Court, and pressing it home, moved this 
Person, who was Counsel on the other Side, to pick a Quarrel 
with this poor Man's Leather Doublet, and amongst other In- 
terrogations, bawl'd 'out, You fellow in the Leather Doublet, 
pray what have you for swearing f The Man upon this, looked 
steadily on him, replied, Truly, Sir, if you have no more for 
lying than I have for Swearing, you might wear a Leather 
Doublet as well as L This bluntly retorted, moved at that 
Time much Laughter, and filled the Town with the Discourse 
of it. 

Another Time it fell out, that some Musicians brought an 
Action against a Person, at whose Wedding-day they had 
play'd, for the Money they were promised or expected, when in 
the midst of the Evidence, this Person called to one of them, 
viz. You Fiddler, &c. at which the Man seeming disgusted, he 
again, upon the Party's alledging himself to be a Musician, 
demanded, What Difference there was between a Musician and 
a Fiddler? As much, Sir, said he, as there is between a pair of 
Bag-pipes and a Recorder. And he then being Recorder of 
London, it was taken as a suitable Repartee. 

A Country Gentleman having Married a City Orphan, comes 
and demands her Fortune, which was about .£1100, but by all 
the Friends that he could make, could not procure it, till he 



dfoorp lord ^zttxtyg. 301 

goes to Jeffreys, then Recorder, and gave him ioo Guineas to 
be his Friend to get out his Wife's Fortune, upon which 
Jeffreys told him, that the Court of Aldermen would sit such a 
Day ; the Gentleman appearing, was call'd in, Jeffreys being 
present, who ask'd him, Sirrah, whafs your Business f Upon 
which the Gentleman told him, That he had Married a City- 
Orphan, and desired he might have her Portion o' th' Chamber ; 
upon which Jeffreys ask'd him, If he had askt the Consent of 
the Court of Aldermen ? He told him, No. Upon which he 
call'd him Rogue, Rascal, Sirrah, you should have ask'd Leave 
from the Court for such a Marriage. He told him he under- 
stood not the Custom o' th' City, and begged their Pardon, being 
a Country Gentleman. Upon this Jeffreys abus'd him again : 
but afterwards gives him a Note for his Money ; his publick 
Railing upon him being only to blind the Court, that they 
might not suspect him bribed. 

Jeffreys (when Chief Justice) being at a Country Assize, try- 
ing a Cause, an old Man with a great Beard came to give 
Evidence before him, and not doing it to his Mind, he began to 
cavil with his Beard, and amongst other Expressions told him, 
That if his Conscience was as large as his Beard, he might well 
swear any thing. This so netled the old Blade, that without 
any Respect to his Greatness, he briskly replied, My Lord, if 
you go about to measure Consciences by Beards, your Lordship 
has none. 

The Lord Jeffreys at another time making a Speech to the 
Grand Jury, particularly charged them to be severe against the 
Protestant Dissenters ; during the Time of the Charge he espied 
his old Schoolmaster, and pointed at him particularly, saying, 
That is one of them. Many more of this kind might be men- 
tioned, but not being greatly to the Purpose, they are willingly 
omitted. Which the Reader will be apt to believe, if he ex- 
amines his Dealings with Mr. Moses Pitt, Bookseller, which 
that I may set in their true Light, I shall give 'em in Mr. Pitt's 
own words, as I find 'em in his Treatise, entituled, The City of 
the Oppressed, p. 105, which are as follows : 

Among several Houses I built both in King-street and Duke- 
street, Westminster, just against the Bird-Cages in St. James s 
Park, which just as I was a finishing, I lett to the Lord 



302 Wyz %itz anti 2DeatIj of 

Chancellor Jeffreys, with Stables and Coach-houses to it, for 
£300 per Annum. After which, when he the said Chancellor 
came to see the House, (Alderman Duncomb, the great Banker 
being with him) and looking about him, saw between the House 
and St. James's Park an idle piece of Ground, he told me, 'He 
would have a Cause- Room built on it. I told him that the 
Ground was the King's. He told me that he knew it was ; but 
he would beg the Ground of the King, and give it me : He 
also bid me make my own Demands, and give it him in Writ- 
ing, the which I did ; and unto which he did agree, and com- 
manded me immediately to pull down the Park- Wall, and to 
build as fast as I could, for he much wanted the said Cause- 
room. My Agreement with him was, That he should beg of King 
James all the Ground without the Park- Wall, between Webbs 
and Storey's inclusive; which said Ground is Twenty-Five 
Foot in Breadth, and near Seven Hundred Foot in length (to 
the best of my Memory) for Ninety Nine Years, at a Pepper- 
corn per Annum, and he, the said Lord Chancellor, was to make 
over the said King's Grant to me for the said Number of Years, 
without any Alterations, with Liberty to pull down, or build on 
the Kings Wall, and to make a Way and Lights into the 
King's Park, according as I pleas' d. In Consideration of my 
building on the said Ground of the Kings's, and the said Lord 
Chancellor's Enjoyment of it during his Occupation of the said 
House. All which the Lord Chancellor agreed to. For that 
purpose he sent for Sir Christopher Wren, his Majesty's Sur- 
veyor, and my self, and ordered Sir Christopher to take Care to 
have the said Ground measured, and a Platform taken of it, and 
that Writings and Deeds be prepared for to pass the Great Seal. 
Sir Christopher ask'd the said Lord Chancellor, in whose Name 
the Grant was to pass, whether in his Lordship's or Mr. Pitt's f 
The Chancellor replied, That the King had granted him the 
Ground for Ninety Nine Years, at a Pepper-corn per Annum, 
and that he was to make over the said Grant to his Landlord 
Pitt, for the same Term of Years, without any Alteration, in 
Consideration of his said Landlord Pitt building him a Cause- 
Room, S^c. and his the said Lord Chancellor's enjoying the 
same during his living in the said Pitt's House : and withal 
urg'd him the said Pitt immediately to take down the King's 



(Beorp Horti 3|effrtpgu 303 

Park-wall, and to build with all Expedition ; for he much wanted 
the Cause-room, and that I should not doubt him, for he would 
certainly be as good as his Agreement with me. My Witnesses 
are, Sir Christopher Wren, his Majesty's Surveyor, Mr. Fisher 
deceased, who belong'd to Sir C. H arbor d, his Majesty's Land 
Surveyor, Mr. Joseph Avis, my Builder, Mr. Thomas Blud- 
worth, Mr. John Arnold, both Gentlemen belonging to the said 
Lord Chancellor, and several others; upon which I had a 
Warrant from Mr. Cook, out of the Secretary of State's Office, 
in the Lord Chancellor's Name, with King Jameses Hand and 
Seal, to pluck down the King's Wall, and make a Door and 
Steps, Lights, &*c. into the Park, at Discretion ; which said 
Warrant cost me £6 5s. Upon which, in about three or four 
Months Time I built the two Wings of that great House, which 
is opposite to, the Bird-cages, with the Stairs, and Tarrass, &r*c. 
which said Building cost me about Four Thousand Pounds, 
with all the Inside-work : My Workmen being employed by the 
said Lord Chancellor to fit up the said House, and also Offices, 
and Cause-Room for his Use ; for all which he never paid me 
one Farthing. 

When I had finished the said Building, I demanded of him 
several Times my Grant of the said Ground from the King ; he 
often promised me, that I should certainly have it ; but I being 
very uneasie for want of my said Grant, I wrote several 
Times to him, and often waited to speak with him, to have it 
done ; but at last I found I could have no Access to him, and 
that I spent much Time in waiting to speak with him, altho' I 
lived just over-against his Door ; and also I considered that he 
could not be long Lord Chancellour of England, King William 
being just come. I got into the Parlour where he was, many 
Tradesmen being with him that he had sent for ; I told him, 
that I did not so earnestly demand my Rent, which was near 
half a Year due, but I demanded of him my Grant from King 
James of the Ground we had agreed for, in Consideration of my 
Building. He told me, That he would leave my House, and 
that he should not carry away the Ground and Building 
with him ; which was all the Answer I could have from him. 
And the very next Day he went into Whitehall, and had the 
Jesuite Peter's Lodging, where he lay till that Tuesday Morning 



304 W&t ILxlz ant) 2Deatf) of 

King James first Abdicated, and went away with Sir Edward 
Hales ; the said Lord Chancellour should have gone with them, 
but they dropt him ; so that Morning finding them to be gone, 
he was fain to shift for himself, and to fly with a Servant, or at 
most two, with him, and soon after taken and sent to the Tower, 
where he since died. 

Jeffreys prosecuted Mr. Baxter for his Paraphrase upon the 
New Testament, and sent him to prison ; he coming out by an 
Habeas 'Corpus, was fain to abscond in the country (in con- 
stant Pain) till the Term. Then his oft Waitings at the Bar 
(where he could not stand) and then to be railingly treated by 
Jeffreys and Withins, and called Rogue and Knave, and not 
suffered to speak one Word of Answer for himself, and his 
Councel being reviled that offered to speak for him, was far 
harder to him than his Imprisonment. And then going from 
the Bar, he only said, That his Predecessor thought otherwise 
of him. Jeffreys reply'd, There was not an honest Man in 
England that took him not for a Knave; not excepting the 
King, that had given him another Testimony in Words. 

But to return to the Thred of this Discourse; passing by his 
vehement and pressing Discourse to the Jury against William 
Lord Russel, on his Trial at the Old Baily, which, some say, 
greatly influenced them to find him guilty; and add, That he 
did it out of a Pique, in Remembrance he was one of the Mem- 
bers of the Parliament before whom he was brought on his knees. 
We find him by this Time trying of Dr. Titus Oates, upon two 
Informations, upon the Account of his swearing to the White- 
//^r^-Consult, and Ireland's being in Town ; and after a long 
Debate, wherein many Repartees passed, the Jury made a shift 
to find him guilty ; as to the Circumstances, I refer you to the 
Trial ; but the Sentence was severe, and of its Effects few are 
ignorant, wherefore I shall pass it over, as also Mr. Tho?nas 
Dangerfield, another of the Evidences in discovering the Con- 
trivances, and carrying on of the Popish Plot, which the Papists 
by these manner of Proceedings accounted to be effectually 
stifled. And now before any thing remarkable happened, the 
Kingdom was alarm'd with the Landing of the late Duke of 
Monmouth at Lyme, in Dorsetshire, and the Earl of Argyle in 
Scotland; but however these two unfortunate Gentlemen mis- 



Horn dPeorjje 3|effrepgu 305 

carrying, and losing their lives, left a great many of their 
miserable Followers to feel the Severity of Punishment ; and as 
for the gleaning the bloody Fields in England, they came to 
the sitting of this Person, who with others going down with a 
Commission to try them, all the Indignities the Dissenters had 
put upon him, came fresh into his Remembrance, so that he 
made them find the Laws more cruel than the Sword, and wish 
they had fallen in the field, rather than come to his Handling ; 
for he breathed Death like a destroying Angel, and sanguined 
his very Ermins in Blood : A large Account of which you shall 
have in its proper Place. 

But by the Way, for the sake of the West-Country Reader, 
I shall here add a true and impartial Narrative of the late Duke 
of Monmouth's whole Expedition while in the West, seeing that 
was the Prologue to that bloody Scene that you will hear by 
and by, was acted by George Lord Jeffreys, (the Subject of our 
present Discourse.) 

To begin then, May 24, Old Style, we left Amsterdam about 
Two of the Clock, being Simday Morning, and in a Lighter 
sail'd for the Texel, our Vessels being sent before us thither ; 
but meeting with extreme cross Winds all the Way, we arrived 
not till Saturday Night, and then went all on Board. Here 
our Man of War with about 32 Guns (where the Duke's Person 
was) was under an Arrest by Order of the States of Amsterdain 
on the Complaint of our Envoy, they presuming we had been 
clear, but we broke through our Arrest, and Sunday Morning, 
at break of Day, set Sail for England. We had in all three 
Ships; that of 32 Guns carried most of our Men, the other 
two were for our Ammunition. We met with exceeding 
cross Winds, most part of the Time we spent on the Seas, 
and arrived not at Lyme till Thursday, June 11, so that 
from Amsterdam to Lyme we wanted but two Days of three 
weeks. 

We landed without any the least Opposition, and were re- 
ceived with all Expressions of Joy imaginable ; the Duke, as 
soon as he jumped out of his Boat on Land, call'd for Silence, 
and then desir'd we would join with him in returning God 
Thanks for that wonderful Preservation we had met with at 
Sea, and accordingly fell on his Knees on the Sand, and was 

x 



306 %l)t %ift an* 2Deatf) of 

the Mouth of us all in a short Ejaculation, and then immediately 
well Armed, as many as we were, entered the Town. 

Friday the whole Day was spent in listing of Men, which 
flocked to us so fast, that we could scarce tend them with Arms. 

The like on Saturday also; and then about ten of the Clock 
at Night, 300 of our Men were sent to Bridport, about six 
English Miles off, to storm that Town betimes in the Morning, 
which we did accordingly, taking many Prisoners out of their 
Lodgings ; and had not our Soldiers been a little too eager of 
Plunder, we had made a good Day's Work on't ; but there 
lying about a Wood some of the King's Forces, we were forced 
to retreat, losing three or four Men, and killing several of theirs, 
and taking eight Prisoners ; this was the first Action which 
he had. 

Sunday also was spent in Listing, and Monday Morning ; 
but in the Afternoon we marched out of Lyme for Axminster, a 
little Town four Miles off ; our Party was near 2000 Foot, and 
300 Horse, though we landed not full an hundred Men, and all 
these in the Space of four Days : About two Miles from Lyme 
we espied the Duke of Albermarle, with about 4000 Men, 
designing that Night to quarter in the same Town, which we 
had News of in the Way ; yet we marched on in good Order, 
and came into the Town, lined all the Hedges, planted our 
Field-pieces, and expected nothing more than that we should 
give 'em Battel, they being not an English Mile from the 
Town ; they made towards us as soon as they heard that we 
were there; but the Duke of Albermarle finding his Men to be 
all Militia-Men of the County of Devonshire, and that they 
had no Stomach to fight against Monmouth, retreated, when he 
came within a Quarter of an English Mile of the Town. He 
came from Exon with these Forces, intending to lay a Siege 
against Lyme, presuming we could not be ready in so short a 
Time; but finding us so well prepared to receive him, he wisely 
retired, his Men being in great Disorder and Confusion, sup- 
posing we had pursued them, which was Debated; but the Duke 
said, It was not his Business to fight yet, till his Men had been 
a little disciplined, but rather to make up into the Country as 
fast as possible, to meet his friends, not questioning but there 
would have been in several Parts of the Kingdom some Action 



%orti <Bzov$z 3|effrep0* 307 

on the News of his Success : But this in the End proved fatal 
to us ; for had we but followed them, we had had all their Arms, 
several more Men, and might have march'd in two Days with 
little or no Opposition, to the very Gates of Exon, the Country 
Troops resolving not to fight us ; and several came to us that 
Night with their Arms. But missing this Opportunity, we 
march'd on for Taunton, lodging at several small Towns by the 
Way, which still received us as kindly as possible, and all the 
Way met with the loud Acclamations of the Country, praying 
God to succeed our Arms. 

Thursday we came to Taunton, about twenty Miles from 
Lyme, To give a particular Account of our Reception here, 
would be too tedious; the Streets so throng' d with People, we 
could scarce enter, all endeavouring to manifest their Joy at his 
Coming, and. their Houses, Doors, and Streets garnished with 
green Boughs, Herbs, and Flowers, all the Emblems of Pros- 
perity. 

The next Day, twenty six young Gentlewomen, Virgins, with 
Colours ready made at the Charge of the Townsmen, presented 
them to his Grace ; the Captain of them went before with a 
Naked Sword in one Hand, and a small Curious Bible in the 
other, which she presented also, making a short Speech, at 
which the Duke was extremely satisfied, and assured her, He 
ca?ne now in the Field, with a Design to defend the Truths 
contained therein, and to seal it with his Blood, if there shouVd 
be an Occasion for it. Nothing now could content the Country, 
but he must be proclaimed King, which he seemed exceeding 
averse to ; and really I am of Opinion, from his very Heart. 

They said, The Reason why the Gentry of England moved 
not, was because he came on a Common-wealth Principle: This 
being the Cry of all the Army, he was forced to yield to it ; and 
accordingly Saturday Morning he was Proclaimed : In the 
Afternoon came out three PROCLAMATIONS, one setting a 
Sum of Money on the King's Head, as he had done before by 
the other : The Second, Declaring the Parliament of England, 
A Seditious Assembly ; and if they did not separate before the 
End of June, to give Power and Authority to any that would 
attempt to lay hold of them as Rebels and Traitors : The Third, 
To declare the Duke of Albermarle a Traitor, (who now lay 

X2 



308 %%t Hilt anti 2DeatIj of 

within six Miles of us, having had Time to rally his Men) if he 
laid not down his Arms ; forthwith also a Message was sent to 
command him ; but he sent Word, That he was a Subject to 
JAMES the Second, the late King's Brother, and that he knew 
no other Lord. 

We tarried here till Sunday Morning, and then march'd for 
Bridgwater, seven Miles from thence : We were now between 
four and five thousand Men, and had we not wanted Arms, 
could have made above ten thousand. We were received here 
as in other Places, but did little more than Read our Declaration, 
which we did also in all other Towns, the Magistrates standing 
by in their Gowns ; and likewise our Proclamation, and so 
march'd forward for Glassenburyj from Glassenbury we design'd 
for Bristol, three Days March from that Place, designing to 
attack it : Accordingly we arrived at Canshum- Bridge, a little 
Town, three Miles English from Bristol, intending to enter next 
Morning, the Duke of Beauford being there with a Garrison of 
about Four Thousand Men ; being here lodg'd in the Town, we 
were on a sudden alarm'd with the Noise of the Approach of 
the Enemy, being in no small Confusion on this unsuspected 
News : The Duke sent one up the Tower to see whether he 
could discover them marching ; as soon as he came up, he saw 
them at the very Entrance into the Town fighting with our Men. 
Here we had a small Skirmish, our Men being in the Fields ad- 
joining to the Town, refreshing themselves ; but it lasted not 
long, for before he could bring Word, they were fled, being not 
above sixty Horsemen. They did us mischief, killed and woun- 
ded about twenty Men, whereas we killed none of theirs, only 
took four Prisoners and their Horses, and wounded my Lord 
Nuburg, that it was thought mortal ; they came thither, think- 
ing it had been their own Forces ; and had not our undisciplined 
Fellows been a little too eager, and suffer'd 'em to come a little 
further on, they would have entered the Town, and we must 
have had every Man of them ; their Infantry was following, but 
on their Return came not forward. These Forces being so near, 
and Bristol being so well mann'd also, the Duke was loth to 
pass the Bridge for Bristol, though some Gentlemen that came 
over with us, and were proscribed upon the Account of the 
former Plot, being Bristol Men, and knew the Hearts of the 



HorU (Beorge %z$vz$&. 309 

Townsmen, begg'd him heartily to proceed towards it, offering 
themselves to go in the Head of them into the Town, by some 
private Ways which they knew, assuring him, They would make 
no Resistance, but could not persuade him ; which had we been 
Possessors of, we could not have wanted Money nor Arms, the 
only Things needful for us in that Juncture ; for had we but had 
Arms, I am persuaded we had by this Time had at the least 
twenty thousand Men ; and it would not then have been diffi- 
cult for us to have march'd to London, with the Recruit of 
Bristol, the King not being able to make 7000 Men for the 
gaining of so many Kingdoms. But God saw it not fit for us, 
and over-ruled our Consultations to our own Ruin ; for this was 
in the Top of our Prosperity ; and yet all the while, not a Gentle- 
man, more than went over with us, came to our Assistance. 

So we march'd on to Bath; we lay before it in the Afternoon, 
and sent in our Trumpeter to demand the Town, but they re- 
fused to give us Entrance, having a strong Garrison, it being a 
stout People, and a strong Place. Having no Mind to spend 
Time in laying Sieges, we march'd on that Day to a little Town 
called Phillips-Norton, and there lay that Night, being now 
Sunday the 26th of June, Old Style ; Saturday Morning, pre- 
paring for Frome, we were drawing out our Bagage for our 
March, and on a sudden were alarmed with the Appearance of 
the Enemy, who had entered the Town, and had lined all the 
Hedges, and began to fire on us : Here we began the briskest 
Rencounter we yet had, and for an Hour or more we had a 
brisk Skirmish ; but at last we beat them back, killing about 
thirty which lay in the Place ; and we lost about ten in all, and 
a few wounded : They retreating with their whole Army, pitched 
within a Mile of the Town ; and we went out also, and pitched 
near them, but out of Musket-shot, playing Cannon one on 
another for some Hours ; they killed us but one Man all the 
while, but with ours we did great Execution, having the Advan- 
tage of the Ground ; so at last they retreated, and I have been 
told, lost some hundreds of Men in the Battel, both killed and 
wounded : So we marched on for Frome, a Town where we 
were as well beloved as at Taunton, were we wanted for nothing 
but Arms, which were by a Stratagem taken from them a few 
Days before our Entrance. Here came the unexpected News 



310 Cije JLift aat> SDeattj of 

of Argyll s being defeated, and likewise of the Advance of the 
King's Forces from London with considerable Bagage, and thirty 
Field-Pieces. On this News, together with our Want of Money 
and Arms, (not seeing which Way to avoid these Forces) we 
were at a Stand, and not a little non-plus d. 'Twas at 'last 
agreed on, that we that came with the Duke, should get good 
Horses that Night, and so for Pool, a little Sea-port Town not 
far off, where we were to seize a Ship, and set forth for Hoi- 
land again, leaving our Infantry to the Mercy of the Country. 

This was much like that Resolution of the Hollanders, in the 
Time of the Civil War with Spain, being, as we then were, in 
Despair of making better Terms, and not daring to enter Salts- 
bury-Plain, because their Horse being so much better than 
ours, their Men being all Disciplin'd, ours not, we could not 
face them in so plain and open a Country, so that we retreated 
backward : In the mean time resolving to see what London 
would do, having a good Opportunity offer' d them : The Soldiers 
being call'd forth, and not two thousand Men to be had for their 
Defence, if they had but attempted anything; this disheartened 
our Men, and several of them coming home to their own Country, 
having felt by Experience the Hardships of War, withdrew 
from us. 

We came well back again to Bridgwater, and were received 
with wonted Love ; we arrived here on Friday the 3rd of July, 
and resolved here to fortifie, so as to hold our Ground till 
w r e heard from London . Saturday in the Afternoon News was 
brought of the Approach of the King's Forces within a Mile 
and a half of the Town where they had encamped ; the Duke 
went up into the Tower, and there took a View of them, and 
seeing them so careless, and their Horse at some Distance from 
the Army, in a little Town, the Infantry being in Sedge- Moore. 
He called a Council on it, and it was concluded on, that we 
should fall on them in the dead of the Night ; accordingly 
having a Guide to conduct us on in a private Way, we march'd 
out at about Eleven of the Clock in the Night, and about One 
fell on them in their Tents. There was a Ditch between us, 
and the Guide promised to conduct 'em over an easie fordable 
Place, but our Men seeing the Enemy just before them, ran 
furiously on, and lost the Guide, so that while they endeavoured 



Horn <$z$x$z 3}effrepgf- 3" 

to recover over that Place, the Enemy got on their Legs, and 
put themselves in Order, and now began as fierce a Battel as 
perhaps ever was fought in England in so short a Time ; our 
Foot fought as well as ever Foot fought, but not a Horse came 
up ; had our Horse but assisted, we must have beaten them out 
of the Field. But our Horses would not stand at the Noise of 
Drums and Guns, so that we soon lost two of our Pieces of 
Ordnance, and we had but four in all, and then but one more in 
the Field ; our Foot flung most of their Shot over, so that the 
Men for the most Part were killed in the Rear, and that run, but 
the Front stood still ; and had we done as much Execution in 
the Front, as we did in the Rear, the Day had been our own ; 
but God would not have it, their Time was not yet come : By 
this Time their Horses came up, and having six or eight hundred 
good disciplin'd Men, well mounted and well arm'd, ours neither ; 
our Foot having shot away all their Ammunition, and our 
Bagage being not then in the Field, they were forced to retreat, 
being all in Confusion. 

Having no Money left, and our Party thus unexpectedly re- 
pulsed, the Duke seeing he could not hold it any longer, fled 
with my Lord Gray. 

The Duke's Party was said to be about three thousand Foot, 
and a thousand House ; we had more, at least five thousand 
Men and Horse, but not well arm'd, yet in the Field. 'Tis said 
we lost not above three hundred, and they Foot : But after when 
we were routed, in our Retreat, lost a vast many more ; though 
they pursued not in some Hours after. 

The most remarkable Persons that were taken in this total 
Rout, were Colonel Holmes ', Major Perrot, the Constable of 
Crookhorn, and Mr. Williams ', Servant to the late Duke of 
Monmouth. 

After the Field was clear of the Duke's Men, the Earl of 
Fever sham marched with five hundred Foot, and a Party of 
Horse and Dragoons to Bridgwater, where he found the Duke's 
Forces that were left there, fled and dispersed into several Places : 
When his Lordship having left these Men in the Town, under 
the Command of Colonel Kirk, and hearing the late Duke of 
Monmouth was fled with about fifty Horse, the greatest Number 
of the Duke's Men that were left together, he sent out divers 



3i2 %$t JLift anti 2DeatIj of 

Parties in pursuit of him and others that fled the Field. When 
on the 7th of July, about Five in the Morning, some of the Lord 
Lumlfs Men seiz'd the Lord Gray and another Person near 
Holt- Lodge in Dorsetshire, four Miles from the West of Ring- 
wood; and the said Lord Lumly making further Enquiry among 
the Cotts, was informed by one Anna Ferrant, that two Men 
went over a Hedge, proving to be the Out-bounds of many In- 
closures^ some of which were overgrown with Fern, others with 
Pease and Oats ; but Guards being set upon the Avenues, after 
divers Attempts to escape, the Brandenburg, one of the Parties 
observed to enter the Ground, was taken on the 8th of July, 
about five in the Morning, who confessing he departed from the 
late Duke of Monmouth about One of the Clock that Morning 
in the Outbounds, diligent Search was made ; when about Eleven 
of the Clock the same Morning he was found, by one Henry 
Parking, hid in a Ditch, covered with Fern, who calling others 
to assist Him, the said late Duke was in the End taken, and 
together with the Lord Grey and the Brandenburgh, with a 
Guard brought by easie Journies to Whitehall, where they ar- 
rived on the 13th of July, and after some Examination were 
committed to the Tower, when on Wednesday the 1 5th of July y 
the late Duke of Monmouth, pursuant to a Warrant signed for 
his Execution, upon his Attainder of High-Treason, was deli- 
vered to the Sheriffs of London and Middlesex, ahout Ten in the 
Morning, and conducted to a Scaffold erected on Tower-Hill> 
where after about half an Hour's Continuance, he laying down 
his Head, had it stricken off by the Executioner, the which, 
together with his Body, being put into a Coffin covered with 
Velvet, were carried away in a Velvet-covered Hearse, in Order 
to his Interment. 

After the Duke was beheaded, many Prisoners taken, and 
those that fled by Parcels up and down, secured in divers Goals, 
in Order to their Prosecution, as was said, according to Law ; 
which was the Occasion of this great Man's shewing his Parts 
to that Degree as he did, no one else being fit to be made a Tool 
for such a Bloody Tragedy as he acted. 

He went not only Judge, but had a Breviate under King 
James's Hand, to command what Troops he pleas'd to attend 
his Commands from Place to Place. And was Lieutenant- 



Horn d5eorffe 3ieffrep& 313 

General, as well as Judge, and he gave daily the Word, and 
Orders for going the Rounds, &>c. and ordered what Party of 

Troops he pleased to attend him. When Major C d, who 

commanded the first Regiment of Guards, the Dragoons, who 
were as his Life-Guard, when at the Head of the Troop follow- 
ing Jeffreys from Somersetshire to Wiltshire, in Order for Lon- 
don, after the Assizes, the Major asked Jeffreys, If there would 
be any favour shewn to one Mr. Speake, who was not the Speake 
intended ? Jeffreys said, No, his Family owed a L ife, he should 
die for his Name-sake, because one of the Family and Name was 
guilty of being in the Action, but was escaped, and therefore 
this being his Brother, should die. Jeffreys demanded of the 
Major, How many he thought there was killed by the Soldiers ? 
He replied, a Thousand, Quoth Jeffreys, I believe I have con- 
demned as many as that myself. — 'Tis to be remembred, that the 
Fellow call'd Tory Tom, at Wells, for his dirty Sauciness was 
sent to the Guard by his Major ; when presently this Tory Tom 
petitioned some Persons to intercede with the Major and sent 
the Major a Letter, desiring his Liberty ; for that if he or any 
one should give Tory Tom an ill word to Judge Jeffreys, the 
Judge would hang him right or wrong with the rest of the Pri- 
soners, or condemn him at least ; so, upon his Submission, the 
Major discharged him, and did not leave him to the Mercy of 
his own Tory Judge. 

The Trials in the West were deferred (for some time after the 
fatal Blow given to the Duke of Monmouth on Tower-Hill, 
which was the 15th of July following) because of my Lord's 
being at Tunbridgej but the latter end of August, he with a 
special Commission of Oyer and Terminer, assisted with four 
other Judges, set forward with a Party of Horse, he being made 
by special Commission their General. The first Place he came 
at, was Winchester, where were divers Prisoners on Suspicion ; 
but here began the Tragedy ; for the Lady Lisle was there Ar- 
raigned for High-Treason, in harbouring Mr. Hicks and Mr. 
Nelthrope, that had been concerned with the Duke ; the Lady 
being on her Trial, the Jury were dissatisfied once and again, 
but my Lord's Threats and other Managery, so disposed the 
Jury, that at last they brought the Lady in Guilty ; on which he 
pronounced the Sentence of Death on her, as usual in such 



314 %%z ILifz ana 2Deatf) of 

Cases ; but she had the Favour of being beheaded ; their other 
Prisoners were carried to Salisbury ; and this was the most 
remarkable Thing at that Assizes. 

From thence they set forward for Salisbury, where were many 
Prisoners that had been pick'd up and down the Country, then 
in the Goal, the which, with those that were brought from 
Winton, were ordered to be carried to Dorchester, there not 
being Evidence enough to accomplish what was then designed 
by my Lord ; so that little of Moment passed there, but to pur- 
sue the Matter, proceeds from thence to Dorchester, where he 
with his Assistants, Gown-men and Sword-men, arrived on the 
3d of September, on which day, being Thursday, the Commission 
was read. Friday Morning was an Excellent Sermon preached 
before their Lordships, by a worthy Divine, Chaplain to a worthy 
Person of that Country, much tending to Mercy : It was ob- 
served, that while my Lord Chief Justice was in Church at 
Prayers, as well as at Sermon, he was seen to laugh ; which 
was so unbecoming a Person in his Character, that ought in so 
weighty an Affair as he was then entering upon, to have been 
more serious, and have craved the Assistance of God Almighty. 

The Sermon being over, their Lordships repaired to the Court, 
which by Order of the Lord Chief Justice was hung with Red 
Cloth, a Colour suitable to such a succeeding Bloody Tragedy, 
being accompanied by a numerous Company of the Gentry of 
that County, as well as the Flower of the Neighbouring Counties 
of Somerset and Devonshire, and then proceeded to give his 
Charge ; in which Charge, by Reason of the Severity of his 
Sentiments, and Positions laid down to make Discoveries of all 
such as were Abettors, Aidors, or Assisters to the late Duke of 
Monmouth, on Pain of High-Treason, which was a great Sur- 
prise to all the Auditors, and so vehemently urged, and so 
passionately expressed, as seemed rather the Language of a 
Romish Inquisitor, than a Protestant Judge; and then Ad- 
journed until Eight of the Clock next Morning, when was a Bill 
found against thirty Persons charg'd for High-Treason, for 
aiding and assisting the late Duke of Mon?nouth; who put 
themselves on their Trials, notwithstanding my Lord's Threat - 
ning, That if any did put the7iiselves on T7'ial, and the Country 
found them Guilty, they should have but a little Time to live. 



3Loro dfoorp 3|effreps- 315 

And at the same time insinuated, That it were better to plead 
Guilty ', 2/" //z^y expected any Favour. 

These thirty being on Trial, the Evidences being sworn and 
examined before the Jury : Upon the whole, by the violent 
Deportment of the Lord Chief Justice, and Sharpness of the 
Jury, they found twenty nine Guilty, though some of them were 
very hardly dealt with, and not so Criminal as my Lord and the 
Country imagined. Particularly amongst the twenty nine, were 
Mr. Matthew Bragg of Thorncomb, and Joseph Speed of 
Culliton, in the County of Devonshire, and Mr. Smith, Con- 
stable of Chardstock, in the said County, and George Steward 
of Culliton aforesaid. The Circumstances of each of these, and 
the Severity of their being found Guilty, &*c. shall be shewed 
in his proper Place, before we take Leave of this Town, and 
proceed on in this Western Expedition. 

The said twenty nine being found (as before) Guilty, my Lord 
immediately pronounced Sentence of Death on them all, as 
usual in Cases of High-Treason, and did the same Night give a 
Warrant to the Sheriff for the Execution of thirteen of the 
twenty nine on Monday following ; which accordingly was done, 
notwithstanding great Application was made to the Lord Chief 
Justice by Gentlemen of the best Quality, in this and the neigh- 
bouring Counties, for a Reprieve of Mr. Bragg, to all which he 
was deaf, and not to be prevailed upon, though he was assured 
of his Honesty, and true Conformity to the Church of England, 
yet it availed nothing. At last it was only requested for ten 
Days Respite, yet that had no better effect ; but on Monday he 
with twelve more of that Number were accordingly executed at 
Dorchester. 

In the mean time this Proceeding was design' d to shorten 
Business, and to wheedle the rest that were to follow to a Con- 
fession, which without it the tenth Part of them could not be 
proved Guilty. A Method was also taken without President, to 
entrap many poor ignorant People, by a couple of Officers that 
were sent into the Gaol, to call over, and to take the Names of 
the Prisoners, on Promise, if they confest, they might expect 
Mercy, otherwise not ; which many did. And this was written 
so, that had they pleaded Not Guilty, these two were designed 
to have been Evidences against them from their own Confes- 



316 <Wbt JLift and 2Deatl) of 

sions, which so disposed the remaining great Numbers, that 
all, except a very few, pleaded Guilty, which put an End to any 
further Trial. 

The only Thing remaining, was the pronouncing of Sentence 
on them, which were in Number 292, who received Sentence'of 
Death all at once. One Mr. Lawrence put himself on Trial, 
but by the Jury found Guilty, whose Case was heard, his Cir- 
cumstances being so small to be condemned to die ; and had 
actually suffered, had not Application been made to my Lord's 
Favourites, and with the Payment and securing of 400/. pre- 
served him from Execution. 

This Matter being adjusted, and Execution awarded to about 
eighty, which were executed, and their Quarters set up and down 
the Country to the Dread of the Spectators, as well as the 
Annoyance of the Travellers. His extraordinary Whippings, 
tho' unmerciful, are not to be taken Notice of. So we leave this 
Place, and proceed towards the City of Exon. In their Way 
thither, lying at an Honourable Gentleman's House, divers of 
the neighbouring Parishes made their Petitions to the Lord 
Chief Justice in the behalf of some Relations concerned. It 
happened, that thro' some Disorder amongst his Servants, some 
Pistols were fired that Night, which gave him a Suspicion, or at 
least he took it, of some Design upon him ; on which at parting 
he said, Not a Man of all those Parishes that were of that 
Vicinitude, if found Gtulty, should escape. And so we proceed, 
and arrive at Exon, where to the Number of 243, Prisoners 
being in Custody for assisting the said Duke of Monmouth j one 
amongst the rest, Mr. Fower Acers, pleading Not Guilty, he 
being found by the Jury, the said Lord Chief Justice imme- 
diately pronounc'd Sentence upon him, and immediate Execu- 
tion, which was done to terrifie the rest, who all pleaded Guilty; 
so that these unfortunate People had not time to have the Fair- 
ness of Trials allow'd them, which is a Right due by the laws 
of God and Man. The remaining Number he all condemned ; 
and here was a little sparing ; not so many order'd Execution 
as was in the other County, but those that were executed, were 
hung up and down in most Towns of the County, and their 
Quarters and Heads scatter'd up and down the High- ways and 
publick Places. An extraordinary Sentence of severe Whipping 



%*vH (Beorp %zttvzv&. 317 

was pronounced against Mr. Sa?nuel Staple of Thornco?nb in 
the said County ; but these are Trifles, and we shall endeavour 
to pursue our Design, and make as quick Dispatch as we can, 
that Time may not be lost, the King served, and this Miscreant's 
Thirst quenched with Protestant Blood, which is always well 
pleasing to Inquisitors, and so proceed to the town of Taunton. 
At which Place being arrived, it was thought fit by the Lord 
Chief Justice to be as expeditious as might be ; so that late in 
the Afternoon the Court sat, where the Commission being read, 
he proceeded to give the Charge, which was so very keen and full 
of sharp Inventives, as if the Country itself had not been able 
to make Expiation to his Lordship, to quench his Thirst in the 
Blood of those that ventured their All in Defence of the Protes- 
tant Religion; and here we enter upon the bloodiest Part of 
the Tragedy ; in this town, and at Wells in the said County, 
were more than 500 Prisoners. 

To begin at Taunton : The next Morning after the Charge 
given, the Assizes began, where some few put themselves on 
Trial, who were found Guilty, and immediately order'd to be 
executed ; of which Number one Mr. Simon Hamlin was one, 
who was a zealous worthy good Man, and his Case no way dan- 
gerous, but on the^contrary, had he had to do with a Judge of 
another Stamp. To proceed to the rest : This first Cruelty 
caused the rest to plead Guilty in Hopes of Favour, which was 
only a few Days to live, which those that pleaded had not. 
Amongst these at Taunton were divers eminent Persons that 
had been taken in the West, and carried to London, and brought 
down there to compleat the bloody Tragedy in those Parts : Mr. 
Parrot, Mr. Hew ling, the Elder, Mr. Lisle, Mr. Jenkins, Mr. 
Hucker, and divers others were very eminent. To take Notice 
of every Particular in this Matter, will alter our Design, and 
swell the Book to too great a Bulk, being only designed for a 
Pocket-Companion, and useful it may be to see the Cruelty of 
Men when in their Power, and how the Devil stirreth up his 
Instruments, to pursue those that adventure for the Cause of 
God and Religion. Here were in this Country executed 239. 
The rest that were condemned were transported, except such as 
were able to furnish Coin, and that not a little ; for an Account 
was taken of Mens Abilities, according to which the Purchase 



318 %%t ILift anti 2Dtatf) of 

for Life must be managed by two of his Favourites, who had a 
small Share, the rest went into his Lordship's Pocket ; accord- 
ing to the Actions of Rome, where Sins of any kind may be 
pardoned for Money. This indeed was a Glorious Design in 
the Eye of Mother Church, to root out Heresie by Executions 
and Transportations, to make Room for a Pack ; here Expedi- 
tion must be made, to conclude at Wells; for that a great Man 
being fallen, our great Judge designing his chair, which in short 
he had, as the Reward of so eminent and extraordinary a Piece 
of Service as he did for the Advancement of the Roman Catho- 
licks Interest, which is cruel always where it prevails. 

Thus we leave the town of Taunton, after awarding Execu- 
tion to many there, and their Quarters to be scattered up and 
down the Country, and so we proceed to Wells, where divers 
Prisoners that had been carried from Goal to Goal, in Expec- 
tation of Evidence against them, were in Carts removed to 
Wells j in which Place, to finish this Expedition, the same 
Method as was at the former Assizes, was also taken here by a 
severe Charge, affronting the Gentlemen of this County, as he 
had done in all the Counties before, terrifying the Juries (when 
any pleaded) to make them to bring in the Persons Guilty ; 
some of which being over-awed, and it is doubted, contrary to 
their Judgments ; which if so, the Lord forgive them. 

Here were many eminent and worthy Persons that received 
the Sentence of Death, but the Executions of the County being 
put together, as you have before seen, we make no particular 
Division of the Number here, and the number at Taunton> 
the whole being recited before : We shall therefore endeavour 
to be as brief as we can, to give you what we think material, 
and truly Matter of Fact ; my Lord now being come to con- 
clude this extraordinary Commission, and in haste to be elevated, 
maketh all manner of Dispatch to repair to the King then at 
Windsor, to give an Account of his Transactions, and to receive 
the Reward of his meritorious Service in this Butchering of 
Protestants, which is so acceptable to his Holiness and his 
bigotted Disciples, as nothing can be more ; and indeed, if you 
will belive them, a Work that merits Heaven at last, besides 
what Temporal Preferments are thought fit in this World. If 
this cruel Judge were a true Protestant, his Case is much the 



ILovt} (&tov$t 3[effrt^0. 319 

worse, being made Use of as a Tool to destroy, and carry on 
Popish designs. Thus the Affairs being ended, the Country 
filled with Heads and Quarters of those that were executed, the 
rest that had not wherewith to purchase their Lives, left in 
Custody in Order to Transportation. 



J shall next add the Charge given by the Lord Chief 
Justice Jeffreys, at the City of Bristol, Monday, 
September 21, 1685. In his Return from his 
Western Campaign. 

Gentlemen, 
I am, by the Mercy of God, come to this Great and Popu- 
lous City, a City that boasts both of its Riches and Trade, and 
may justly indeed claim the next Place to the Great and 
Populous Metropolis of this Kingdom. Gentlemen, I find here are 
a great many Auditors, who are very intent, as if they expected 
some formal or prepared Speech, but assure your selves, we 
come not neither to make set Speeches, nor formal Declama- 
tions, nor to follow a couple of puffing Trumpeters j for, Lord, 
we have seen those Things Twenty times before : No, we come 
to do the King's Business ; a King who is so Gracious as to 
use all the Means possible to discover the Disorders of the 
Nation, and to search out those who indeed are the very Pest of 
the Kingdom : To this End, and for this Purpose, we are come 
to this City. But I find a special Commission is an unusual 
Thing here, arid relishes very ill ; nay, the very Women storm 
at it, for fear we should take the Upper-hand of them too ; for 
by the by, Gentlemen, I hear it is much in Fashion in this City 
for the Women to Govern and bear Sway. But, Gentlemen, I 
will not stay you with such needless Stories, I will only mention 
some few Things that fall within my Knowledge ; for Points or 
Matters of Law, I shall not trouble you, but only mind you of 
some Things that lately hath happened, and particularly in this 
City, (for I have the Kalender of this City in my Pocket) and if 
I do not express my self in so formal or set a Declamation, (for 
as I told you, I came not to make Declamations) or in so smooth 



320 %ty 1L\U anD 2Deatf) of 

Language as you may expect, you must attribute it partly to the 
Pain of the Stone, under which I labour, and partly to the 
Unevenness of this Days Journey. 

Gentlemen, I may say that even some of the youngest amongst 
us may remember the late horrid Rebellion, how Men, under 
Colour of Law, and Pretext of Justice, after they had divested 
a most Gracious and most Merciful Prince of all his Royal 
Power, by the Power of the Sword ; they, I say, under Colour 
of Law, and Pretext of Justice, (which added the more to the 
Crime, that it was done under such pretended Justice) brought 
the most Mild and Meekest Prince (next to our Ever-Blessed 
Saviour Jesus Christ, if we may but compare him to a Man) to 
die a Martyr, the first Blessed Martyr, (pardon the Expression ; 
besides our most Blessed Jesu, who suffered for us on the Cross; 
I say, besides that Blessed Son of God) this, I say, was the first 
Royal Martyr ; not suffering him to speak for himself, or make 
his Defence ; a Liberty which is given to the vilest Traitor ; 
and this was done (not to descant on the Number) by Forty 
One. The Rebels not resting here, for Rebellion is like the Sin 
of Witchcraft, divested the Lineal, Legal, and Rightful Heir of 
the Crown of all his Power and Prerogative, till the mighty God 
of Heaven and Earth, God Almighty, restored him to his Just 
Right : And he, as if begot in Mercy, not only forgave all 
Offences, and pardoned voluntarily, even all that had been in 
actual Arms against him (except those accursed Regicides), but 
made it a Crime for any one that should but remember or 
upbraid any of their past Crimes and Rebellions. Good God ! 
O Jesu ! That we should live in such an Age, in which such 
a Prince cannot be safe from the seditious Contrivances of 
pardoned Rebels ! Had we not the Rye Conspiracy, wherein 
they not only designed to have murthered that most Blessed 
(for so now we may conclude him to be with God Almighty) 
and Gracious King, but also his ever Dear and Victorious 
Brother ? Had we not the Bill of Exclusion, which our most 
Gracious King told us he could not, without a manifest Infringe- 
ment of the Royal Prerogatives of the Crown, (which are too sacred 
for us to touch) consent to ? Had we not the cursed Counsel of 
Achitophelf Kings are God's Vice- Regents on Earth, and are 
indeed Gods on Earth, and we represent them. Now when God 



ilorti (Beorge %\zttvzv#. 321 

Almighty had of his Infinite Goodness, called this Blessed Prince 
unto himself, he sends a Prince, who assures us he will imitate 
his Royal Brother and Renouned Predecessor in all Things, espe- 
cially in that of his Clemency and Mercy, and that too upon the 
Word of a King ; a King, I will assure you, that will not be 
worse than his Word ; nay, (pardon the Expression) that dare 
not be worse than his Word. Which of you all that had a 
Father murthered by another, (and that deliberately too, under 
Colour of Justice, which added to the Crime ; and your Brother, 
nay, your selves thrust out from your Inheritance, and banished 
from your Country; nay, that sought your Blood like-wise) would 
not, if it was in your Power, revenge such Injuries, and ruin 
such Persecutors ? But here our most Blessed Prince, whom 
God long preserve, hath not only forgiven, but will venture his 
Life for the Defence of such his Enemies. Has he not ventur'd 
his Life already as far as any Man, for the Honour of these 
Kingdoms? Nay, I challenge this City to shew me any one 
Man of it, that perchance may not be worth a Groat, that has 
ventured his Life so far for the Safety of these Kingdoms, as 
this Royal Prince hath done. Good God ! What an Age do 
we live in ! Shall not such a Prince be secure from the Sedition, 
Rebellion, and Plots of Men ? He is scarce seated on his Royal 
Throne, (where God Almighty grant he may long Reign) but on 
the one Hand he is invaded by a condemned Rebel, and Arch- 
Traitor, who hath received the just Reward of his Rebellion ; 
on the other Hand up starts a Poppet Prince, who seduces the 
Mobile into Rebellion, into which they easily are bewitched ; 
for I say, Rebellion is like the Sin of Witchcraft ; this Man, who 
had as little Title to the Crown as the least of you (for I hope 
all you are Legitimate) being overtaken by Justice, and by the 
Goodness of his Prince brought to the Scaffold, he has the Con- 
fidence (Good God ! That Men should be so impudent) to say, 
That God Almighty did know with what Joyfulness he did 
die; (a Traitor) having for these two Years last past lived in all 
Incontinency and Rebellion, notwithstanding the Goodness of 
an Indulgent Prince so often to pardon him ; but it is just like 
him. Rebellion (as I told you) is like the Sin of Witchcraft. 
For there was another, which I shall not name, because I will 
not trample on the Dust of the Dead, but you may remember 
him by these Words of his Speech ; he tells you, That he thanks 

Y 



322 W$z JLifz anU 2Dtatf) of 

his God that he falls by the Ax, and not by the Fiery Trial. 
He had rather (he had as good have said) die a Traitor than 
a Blessed Martyr. 

Great God of Heaven and Earth ! What Reason have Men 
to rebel ! but as I told you, Rebellion is like the Sin of Witch- 
craft ; Fear God, and Honour the King, is rejected by People 
for no other Reason, as I can find,but that it is written in St. Peter. 
Gentlemen, I must tell you, I am afraid, I am afraid that this City 
hath too many of these People in it. And it is your Duty to 
search them out : For this City added much to that Ship's 
Loading ; there was your Tytys, your Roe's, and your Wades, 
Men started up like Mushrooms, Scoundrel Fellows, meer Sons 
of Dunghils : These Men must forsooth set up for Liberty and 
Property. A Fellow that carries the Sword before Mr. Mayor, 
must be very careful of his Property, and turn Politician, as if 
he had as much Property as the Person before whom he bears 
the Sword ; though perchance not worth a Groat. Gentlemen, 
I must tell you, you have still here the Tyly's, the Roe's, and 
the Wades : I have brought a Brush in my Pocket, and I shall 
be sure to rub the Dirt wherever it lies, or on whom soever it 
sticks. Gentlemen, I shall not stand complimenting with you, 
I shall talk with some of you before you and I part : I tell you, 
I tell you, I have brought a Besome, and I will sweep every 
Man's Door, whether great or small. Must I mention Particu- 
lars ? I hope you will save me that Trouble ; yet I will hint a 
few Things to you, that perchance I have heard of. This is a 
great City, and the Magistrates wonderful Loyal, and very for- 
ward to assist the King with Men, Money, and Provisions, 
when the Rebels were just at your Gates : I do believe it would 
have went very hard with some of you if the Enemy had en- 
tered the City, notwithstanding the Endeavours that was used 
to accomplish it. Certainly they had and must have great In- 
couragement from a Party within, or else why should their 
Design be on this City ? Nay, when the Enemy was within a 
Mile of you, that a Ship should be set on fire in the midst of 
you, as a Signal to the Rebels, and to amuse those within ; 
when if God Almighty had not been more Gracious unto you 
than you was to your selves (so that Wind and Tide was for 
you) for what I know, the greatest Part of this City had per- 
ished ; and yet you are willing to believe it was an Accident. 



HorO (Btorffe Jeffrey. 323 

Certainly here is a great many of those Men which they call 
Trimmers. A Whig is but a mere Fool to these ; for a Whig 
is some sort of a Subject in Comparison of these ; for a Trim- 
mer is but a cowardly and base-spirited Whig; for the Whig 
is but the Journeyman-Prentice, that is hired and set on in the 
Rebellion, whilst the Trimmer is afraid to appear in the Cause; 
he stands at a Doubt, and says to himself, I will not assist the 
King until I see who hath the best of it ; and refuses to enter- 
tain the King's Friends for fear the Rebels should get the better 
of it. These Men stink worse than the worst Dirt you have in 
your City ; these Men have so little Religion, that they forget 
that he that is not for us is against us. Gentlemen, I tell you, 
I have the Kalender of this City here in my Hand ; I have 
heard of those that have searched into the very Sink of a Con- 
venticle to find out some sneaking Rascal to hide their Money 
by Night. Come, come, Gentlemen, to be plain with you, I find 
the Dirt of the Ditch is in your Nostrils. Good God ! Where 
am I ? In Bristol ? This City, it seems, claims the Priviledge 
of Hanging and Drawing amongst themselves : I find you have 
more need of a Commission once a Month at least. The very 
Magistrates, which should be the Ministers of Justice, fall out 
one with another to that Degree, they will scarce dine with each 
other, whilst it is the Business of some cunning Men that lye 
behind the Curtain to raise Divisions amongst them, and set 
them together by the Ears, and knock their Logger-heads to- 
gether ; yet I find they can agree for their Interest, or if there 
be but a Kid in the Case ; for I hear the Trade of Kid-napping 
is of much Request in this City, they can discharge a Felon, or 
a Traitor, provided they will go to Mr. Alderman's Plantation 
at the West-Indies. Come, come, I find you stink for want of 
Rubbing. Gentlemen, what need I mind you of these Things ? 
I hope you will search into them, and inform me. It seems the 
Dissenters and Phanaticks fare well amongst you, by Reason of 
the Favour of the Magistrates ; for Example, if a Dissenter, 
who is a notorious and obstinate Offender, comes before them 
to be fined, one Alderman or other stands up, and says, He is a 
good man, (tho' three Parts a Rebel) well then for the Sake of 
Mr. Alderman he shall be fined but 5^. Then comes another, 
and up stands another Goodman Alderman, and says, I know 
him to be an honest Man (though rather worse than the former) 

Y 2 



324 C&e liiiz ana 2Deat!j of 

well, for Mr. Alderman's sake he shall be fined but half a Crown; 
so Manus manum fricat ; You play the Knave for me now, and 
I will play the Knave for you by and by. I am ashamed of 
these Things : And I must not forget to tell you, that I h,ear of 
some Differences amongst the Clergy, those that ought to preach 
Peace and Unity to others : Gentlemen, these Things must be 
looked into. I shall not now trouble you any further ; there 
are several other Things, but I expect to hear of them from 
you. And if you do not tell me of some of these things, I shall 
remind you of them. And I find by the Number of your Con- 
stables, this is a very large City, and it is impossible for one or 
two to search into all the Concerns of it ; therefore mind the 
Constables of their Duties, and call on them for their Present- 
ments ; for I expect every Constable to bring in his Present- 
ment, or that you present him. So Adjourn, &c. 

Upon Affidavits read, and other Evidence against Sir W ■ 

the Mayor, Alderman L , and others, for Kidnapping, there 

being Bills preferred to the Grand Jury by J R , and 

being found, he made the Mayor and the Aldermen concerned 
to go from the Bench to the Bar, to plead to the Informations ; 
using many Expressions, saying of the Mayor, See how the 
Kidnapping Rogue looks ; &c. 

My Lord, after he had left Bristol, being come to the King to 
give an Account of his Affairs in the West, the Great Seal being 
to be disposed of, by the Death of the late Keeper, he kiss'd 
the King's Hand for it, and was made Lord Chancellour, which 
was only an Earnest of his Desert for so eminent and extraor- 
dinary a Piece of Service ; for now that which remains, is to 
give an Account of divers that had fled, and hid themselves 
up and down in Holes and Privacies, whose Friends made all 
Application to some great Men or other to procure their Par- 
dons ; some to this, and others to such as they thought 
Favourites of the King ; but the Rewards must be ascertained 
before any Application could be made : Divers Lists being sent 
up, and the Rewards ascertained, which amongst many of them 
put together, did amount to considerable ; so that it was now 
who could find a Friend to relieve his distressed Relations, 
which were forced to wander up and down in Caves and De- 
sarts for fear of being taken : But this Misfortune attended 
the Agents, that unless my Lord Chancellour [were used, by 



HorU (Beorge 3|effrtpgf* 325 

his Creatures, that were allowed by him so to do ; other Appli- 
cations commonly met with Disappointments, which caused 
an Emulation among the great Men ; one supposing to have 
deserved the King's Ear as well as the other, which caused 
other Measures to be taken, tho' some were weedled out of 
their Money. At last came out a General Pardon, with Ex- 
ceptions, very few if any of those that were sollicited for, not 
being excepted, were of Course pardoned ; but however, divers 
Sums of Money having been paid, no Restitution to be had, 
for from Hellis no Rede7nption. A Western Gentleman's Pur- 
chase came to fifteen or sixteen hundred Guineas, which my 
Lord Chancellor had. Amongst the Exceptions, were a .Parcel 
of Taunton Girls, some of which were Children of eight or ten 
Years old ; however something was to be made of them, if these 
Ladies were judged guilty of Treason, for presenting the Duke 
of Monmouth with Colours, &C. and for to preserve these from 
Trial, they were given to Maids of Honour to make up their 
Christmas- Box j so that an Agent of theirs was sent down into 
the Country to compound with their Parents, to preserve them 
from what might after follow, if taken ; so that some, according 
to Ability, gave ioo/. others 50/. all which however did not 
answer the Ladies first Expectations ; yet it did satisfie, and 
they were accordingly pardoned. Thus we have given you an 
Account of what hath happened on this Occasion, being in 
every Point Truth : We might have farther enlarged, but that 
would have spoiled the Design, and swoln our Pocket- Com- 
panion to a volume too big. 

We shall therefore next proceed to give you a true and exact List 
of all them that were condemned, and suffered in the West, in the 
Year 1685, under the Sentence of my Lord Chief Justice Jeffreys, 
with the Names of the Towns where every Man was executed. 

Lyme 12. Bath 6. John Caswell 

Col. Holmes Walter Baker Thomas Hayward 

Mr. Batiscomb Henry Body John Hellier 

Mr. William Hewling Gerrard Bryant Edward Beere 

Mr. Sampson Lark Thomas Clotworthy Henry Portridge 
Dr. Temple Thomas Collins George Pether 

Capt. Madders John Carter Thomas Peirce 

Capt. Matthews Philipsnorton 12. John Richards 

Mr. Joseph Tyler Robert Cook John Staple 

Mr. William Cox, & ^.Edward Creaves John Smith. 



326 



<gp&e %i£t ana 2DeatIj of 



FrOOME 12. Henry Russel 
Francis Smith George Knight 

SamuelVill,<z/zVwVile Robert Wine 



Thomas Star 
Philip Usher 
Robert Beamant 
William Clement 
John Humphrey 
George. Hasty 
Robert Man 
Thomas Pearl 
Laurence Lott 
Thomas Lott. 

Bruton 3. 
James Feildsen 
Humphrey Braden 
Richard Bole. 

WlNCANTON 6. 
John Howel 
Richard Harvey 
John Tucker 
William Holland 
Hugh Holland 
Thomas Bowden. 
Shepton-Mallet 

13- 

Stephen Mallet 
Joseph Smith 
John Gilham, Jun. 
Giles Bramble 
Richard Chinn 
William Cruise 
George Pavier 
John Hildworth 
John Ashwood 
Thomas Smith 



Robert Hill 
Nicholas Adams 
Richard Stephens 



William Clerk, alias Robert Halfwell 



Chick 
Preston Bevis 
Richard Finier. 

Wrington 3. 
Alexander Key 
David Boyss 
Joshua French. 
Wells 8. 
William Mead 
Thomas Cade 
Robert Doleman 
Thomas Durston 
John Sheperd 
Abraham Bend 
William Durston 
William Plumley. 

UlVELSCOMB 3. 
William Ruscomb 
Thomas Pierce 
Robert Combe. 

Tuton-upon-Men 

dip 2. 
Peter Prance 
William Watkins. 

Chard 12. 
Edward Foote 
John Knight 
William Williams 
John Jervis 



John Bushel 
William Lashly. 

Somerton 7. 
William Gillet 
Thomas Lissant 
William Pocock 
Christopher Stephens 
George Cantick 
Robert Allen 
Joseph Kelloway. 

Yeovil 8. 
Francis Foxwell 
George Pitcher 
Bernard Thatcher, for 

concealing Bovet 
William Johnson 
Thomas Hurford 
Edward Gillard 
Oliver Powel. 

Netherstoe 3. 
Humphrey Mitchel 
Richard Cullverellj 
Merrick Thomas 
DUNSTER3. 
Henry Lackwell 
John Geanes 
William Sully. 

DULVERTON 3. 
John Basely 



HumphreyHitchcockJohn Lloyd 
William Godfrey Henry Thompson. 



Abraham Pill 



John Dorchester, Sen. William Davy 
John Combe 
John Groves. 

Pensford 12. 
Roger Cornelius 
John Starr 
Humphrey Edwards 
William Pierce 
Arther Sullway 
George Adams 



Henry Easterbrook 
James Dennett 
Edward Warren 
Simon Cross. 

Crookern 
John Spore 
Roger Burnoll 
William Pether 
James Evory 



10. 



Bridgewater 12. 
Robert Fraunces 
Nicholas Stodgell 
Joshua Bellamy 
William Moggeridge 
John Hurman 
Robert Roper 
Richard Harris 
Richard Engram 
John Trott 
Roger Guppey v 



Horn <&m$t 3jeffrepg(. 



327 



Roger Hore 



Israel B riant 
Isaiah Davis. William Mead 

Ratcliffe-Hill ATjames Pyes 



Bristol 6. 
Richard Evans 
John Tinckwell 
Christopher Clerk 
Edward Tippot 
Philip Cumbridge 
John Tucker, 
Glover. 



John Broome. 

Taunton 19. 
Robert Perrot 
Abraham Ansley 
Benjamin Hewling 
Pierce Murren 
alias] ohn Freake 
John Savage 



Illminster 12. Abraham Matthews 
Nicholas Collins,Sen.William Jenkyns 



Stephen Newman 
Robert Luckis 
William Kitch 
Thomas Burnard 
William Wellen 
John Parsons 
Thomas Trooke 
Robert Fawne 
Western Hillary 
John Burgen 
Charles Speake. 

Stogersey 2. 
Hugh Ashley 
John Herring 

Wellington 3. 
Francis Priest 
Philp Bovet 
Robert Reed. 



Henry Lisle 
John Dryer 
John Hucker 
Jonathan England 
John Sharpe 
William Deverson 
John Williams 
John Patrum 
James Whittom 
William Satchel 
John Trickey. 

Langport 3. 
Humphrey Peirce 
Nicholas Venton 
John Shellwood 

Arbridg 6. 
Isaac Tripp 
Thomas Burnell 



SOUTH -PETHERTONThomas Hillary 



Cornelius Furfurd 
John Parsons 
Thomas Davis. 

PORLOCK 2. 

James Gale 
Henry Edny 

Glasenbury 6. 
John Hicks 
Richard Pearce 



John Gill, Senior 
Thomas Monday 
John Butcher. 

CUTHERSTON 2. 
Richard Bovet 
Thomas Blackmore 

Minehead 6. 
John Jones, 

Evens 
Hugh Starke 



Francis Bartlet 
Peter Warren 
Samuel Hawkins 
Richard Sweet. 

EVILCHESTER 12. 

Hugh Goodenough 
Samuel Cox 
William Sumerton 
John Masters 
John Walrand 
David Langwell 
Osmond Barret 
Matthew Cross 
Edward Burford 
John Mortimer 
John Stevens 
Robert Townsden. 

Stogummer 3. 
George Hillard 
John Lockstone 
Arthur Williams. 

Castlecary 3. 
Richard Ash 
Samuel Garnish 
Robert Hinde. 

Milton-port 2. 
Archibald Johnson 
James Maxwel. 

Keinsham 11. 
Charles Chepman 
Richard Bowden 
Thomas Trock 
Lewis Harris 
Edward Has well 
Howel Thomas 
George Badol 
Richard Evans 
John Winter 
Andrew Rownsden 
alias j ohn phillelrey. 

Suffered in all 251. 



Besides those Hanged and Destroyed in Cold Blood. 

This Bloody Tragedy in the West being over, our Protestant 
Judge returns for London; soon after which Alderman Cornish 
felt the Anger of some Body behind the Curtain ; for it is to be 



328 <Q[%t %ifz antr 2Deatf) of 

noted, that he was Sheriff when Best prayed an Indictment 
might be preferred, and was, as well as Sheriff Bethel, earnest 
in promoting it; in alledging, that it was noways reasonable 
that the Juries of London should lye under such a Reproach 
&>c. But passing this over, we now find this Person arrive'd at 
the Pinnacle of Honour ; the Purse and Mace were reserved 
for him, vacant by the Death of the Lord Keeper North, and: 
he advanced to the Lord Chancellourship of England; rais'd 
by this . Means, as one might think, above the Envy of the 
Crowd ; and it might be wished, in so dangerous a Heighth he 
had looked better to his Footsteps ; for now being created Baron 
of Went, we find him in a High Commission, or Ecclesiastical 
Court, Suspending the Honourable Lord Bishop of London from 
performing the Episcopal Office and Function of that See, and 
for no other Default, than not readily complying with the King's 
Letter in Suspending Dr. Sharp, Dean of Norwich, for Preach- 
ing a Sermon in the Parish Church of St. Giles in the Fields, 
at the Request of the Parishioners, showing the Errors and 
Fallacies of the Romish Religion; the better to confirm them 
in the Faith and Doctrine of the Church of England. Nor 
was it this good Bishop alone that was aimed at ; for Magdalen 
Colledge at Oxford was next attempted, and in that very Mother 
of Learning, and Chief Seminary of our Church, such Alter- 
ations were made as startled the Kingdom ; by whose Counsel 
I undertake not to determine ; but in the midst of Liberty of 
Conscience, as twice declared. The Church of England had a 
Test put upon her Sons, which seem'd such a Paradox that has 
been rarely heard of, viz. To Read the King's Declaration for 
Liberty of Conscience in the Churches, during the Time of 
Divine Service, and a Mark, and Penalties threatned to the 
Refusers ; which was evidently demonstrated by the Imprison- 
ment of those Pious Patriots of their Country, and Pillars of 
the Church, His Grace the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, 
the Lord Bishops of Bath and Wells, Ely, Peterborough, Chi- 
chester, St. Asaph, and Bristol; who for shewing their Reasons, 
why they could not comply with this Command, by way of 
humble Petition, were sent to the Tower, and afterwards tried 
upon Information of High Misdemeanour, at the Court of 
Kings-Bench; where their Innocency appearing in a large 
manner, they were acquitted, to the Scandal of their Accusers : 
Yet Orders were sent into all Parts of England, to return an 
Account to the Lord Chancellor, of those that refused to Read 
the Declaration, that they might be proceeded against, for a 
Contempt of what their Consciences would not permit them to 
do ; and for a Time they were extremely hot upon it. Much 
about this Time there was a considerable Suit depending before 
him in Chancery, between a great Heiress and others, which 



BLorti (Btovst 3|effrepgf. 329 

was sufficiently talkt of in the World, not without loud and 
deep Reflection on his Honesty and Honour ; for having given 
the Cause for the young Lady, he very speedily afterwards 
married her to his Son ; with this remarkable Circumstance, 
she being a Papist, to make sure Work, he married them both 
Ways, both by a Priest of the Church of Rome, and a Divine of 
the Church of England. And here, I think, we may place the 
Heighth and Acme of his Honour and Happiness, where he's 
not like to tarry long; for on the News of the great Prepar- 
ations in Holland, and that the Prince of Orajige were certainly 
design'd for England, the determined Councils cool'd, and then 
quite ceas'd, so that the Church of England Men, whose Cause 
the Prince had espoused, were restored again to the Com- 
missions and Trusts they had (by what Justice I know not) 
been lately deprived of; and amongst other Charters that were 
on this Occasion restored, was that of the City of London; and 
that which makes it more memorable, was, that it was brought 
to Guild-Hall by this Person, tho' he was not attended by the 
Shouts and Acclamations he expected, nor seemed so florid or 
frolicksome as heretofore, which some looked upon as a bad 
Omen ; and it's reported, soon after he being ask'd by a Courtier, 
What the Heads of the Prince's Declaration were f He should 
answer, He was sure his was one, whatever the rest were. 

When the late King James was secured at Feversham, he 
desired to see his Landlord, and demanded his Name, who 
proved a Person who had turned himself over to the Kings- 
Bench, for a Fine which fell upon him (and Captain Stanbrooke 
in Westminster) by the Lord Chancellour's Means at the Board, 
which King James, calling for a Pen and Ink, bid the Gentle- 
man write the Discharge as effectually as he would ; which he 
signed : Adding, That he was now sensible my Lord Chancellour 
hadbee7i a very ill Man, and done very ill Things. If he was 
thus censured by his Master for his former Services, and he had 
a bad Opinion of him ; without Prophecy any Man might pre- 
dict his Service and Interest was ceased ; and his Life would 
have been like the Scape-Goat, he must have born all their 
Crimes, and been beheaded for his own, for no less Indignation 
than Death was couched in the Words. Thus may be seen 
what would have been his End. 

The Court by this Time beginning to scatter, and the Prince 
of Orange approaching, the King thought fit to withdraw him- 
self ; upon Notice of which the Lord Chancellor betook himself 
to Wapping, disguised like a Sea-man, in Order to his Escape 
to Hamborough in a Collier ; but being * discovered, he was 
brought before Sir J. Chapman, Lord Mayor of the City of 

* And behold thou art taken in thy Mischief, because thou art a bloody 
Man. — 2 Sam. 16. v. 8. 



330 %l)t liitt ana 2Deatj) of 

London, in a strange Disguise, very different from the Habit in 
which he formerly appeared : And by Reason of the Lord 
Mayor's Indisposition, he not being able to Commit him, he 
offered to go to the Tower, to be out of the Hands of the Rabble, 
who there in great Numbers with Clubs and Staves, threatned 
him with present Destruction; but having a Guard of the 
Train'd-Bands to conduct him, he got thither safe, and soon 
after was charged in Custody by a Warrant of Commitment 
from the ^ords at Whitehall, where he continued under much 
Affliction and Indisposition ; having since moved for his Habeas 
Corpus to be bailed, but was not able to attain it. He had not 
been in the Tower many Days, but as 'tis said (whether true or 
no, I cannot affim) he had a Barrel of Oysters sent him, upon 
sight of which he said to the Bearer, / see I have some Friends 
left still j but upon opening the Barrel, he found them to be only 
Friends that were impatient till they gave him a Prospect of his 
future Destiny, for verily the mighty Present was nothing but a 
good able Halter. Now, as I said before, whether this Passage 
be true or no, I cannot say, but this I am sure (if we consider 
his Lordship's Life and Cruelties), the Moral of it is very good. 

The Humble Petition of the Widows and Fatherless 
Children in the West of England. 

We, to the Number of a Thousand and more, Widows and 
Fatherless Children, of the Counties of Dorset, Somerset, and 
Devon, our dear Husbands and tender Fathers, having been 
so Tyrannously Butcher'd, and some Transported, our Estates 
Sold from us, and our Inheritance cut off by the Severe and 
Harsh Sentence of George Lord Jeffreys, now, we understand, 
in the Tower of London, a Prisoner, who has lately, we hear, 
endeavoured to excuse himself from those Tyrannical and 
Illegal Sentences, by laying it on Information by some Gentle- 
men, who are known to us to be good Christians, true Protes- 
tants and Englishmeii, We your Poor Petitioners, many 
Hundreds of us, on our Knees have begg'd Mercy for our 
Dear Husbands and Tender Parents, from his Cruel Hands, 
but his Thirst for Blood was so Great, and his Barbarism so 
Cruel, that instead of Granting Mercy to some, which were 
made appear to be Innocent, and Petitioned for by the Flower 
of the Gentry of the said Counties, he immediately caused them 
to be Executed ; and so Barbarously, that a very good Gentle- 
woman at Dorch, begging on her Knees the Life of a Worthy 
Gentleman, to Marry him, and make him her Husband ; this 
vile Wretch, having not Common Civility with him, and laying 
aside that Honour and Respect due to a Person of her Worth, 
told her, Come, I know your Meaning, some Part of your 
Petition I will grant, which shall be, that after he is Hangd 



3CotU (Beorp 3|effrep0. 331 

and Quartered, you shall have that Me7nber you best like when 
living, and soe I will give Orders to the Sheriff. These, with 
many Hundred more Tyrannical Acts, are ready to be made 
appear in the said Counties, by Honest and Credible Persons ; 
and therefore your Petitioners desire, that the said George 
Jeffreys, late Lord Chancellour, the Vilest of Men, may be 
brought down to the Counties aforesaid, where we, the good 
Women in the West, shall be glad to see him ; and give him 
another manner of Welcome than he had Three Years since. 
And your Petitioner shall ever Pray, &c! 

Thus he continued for some Months in the Tower, his 
Chronical Indispositions, the Stone, d^c. encreasing very fast 
upon him. 

The Ingenious Dr. Lower was his Physician : But Nature 
being now tired out by a tedious Combat with his Disease, and 
the Guilt of his former Bloody Life, we hope it touched his 
Conscience.. He having, besides by his Intemperate Life, 
notoriously known, contracted an 111 Habit of Body, he at last 
very happily for himself, if not his Relations too, dy'd in the 

Tower the Morning, about Nine of the Clock, An. Dom. 

1689. — Thus, Reader, you have seen the Rise and Fall of this 
Unfortunate, Great 111 Man ; and so, at present, after we 
have endeavoured his Character, we take our Farewel. 

Jeffreys's Character. 

He was of Stature rather above a Middle Sort than below it ; 
his Complexion inclining to Fair ; his Face well enough, full of 
a certain Briskness, though mixt with an Air a little malicious 
and unpleasant. He was a Man of tolerable Sense, and had, as 
of Necessity he must, by so long Practice, and going through 
such Publick Places, got some Law, though, as little as 'twas, 
more than he had Occasion to make Use of ; since the Dis- 
pensing Power having as good as seared all Law in the King's 
Breast, he by that found out a more compendious Method of 
attaining it, than was formerly known. He had a pretty large 
Stock of 111 Nature and Witt, in which lay his greatest Excel- 
lency, though a veryunenvy'd one. But in fine, his Brow and his 
Tongue were the two best Accomplishments he was Master of. 
— By the Help of which, and that before mentioned, by his 
brisk, sudden, and sharp Interrogatories, he sometimes put 
Falshood, and perhaps oftner the Truth out of Countenance. 
But that ill-favour'd Wit which he had, lay all of the wrong 
Side ; much like that of those unlucky Animals, all whose Wit 
lyes in Tricks and Mischief. He spoke many pleasant Things, 
but very few handsom ones, disgracing all with intolerable Rail- 
ings, mean Passions, and perfect Billings-gate, and would 
commonly, even upon the Bench itself, fall into Heats both as to 



332 W$t ILiiz antr 2Dtatf) of 

Words and Actions, not only unworthy of a Judge, but even of 
any prudent Man. He seem'd, without wronging him, to have 
a great deal of Baseness and Cruelty in his Nature, having a 
particular Delight and Relish in Cruelty and Blood, and such 
Things as give Horror and Aversion to all the rest of Mankin,d. 
He was in this Case even worse than Neroj for whereas that 
Monster had once so much good Nature, or at least pretended it, 
that when he was to sign a Warrant for the Execution of a Male- 
factor, he is said to have wish'd He had never learr? d to write : 
Jeffreys tfn the other side, then only seem'd in his Element when 
in the midst of Destruction and Murther. For his Religion — 
What a Sort of one 'twas, his Life past sufficiently tells us ; 
though he and his good Brother Commissioner, the Belswagger 
of Chester, maliciously persuade the World, that they were of 
the Church of England; that after they could do it no more 
Mischief with their Lives, they might disgrace it by their Death, 
pretending both to die in that Communion. — But 'tis mean to 
follow 'em any further, unless with a Wish, somewhat like that 
handsome one History leaves us, That all King William's and 
Queen Mary's Enemies were as ho7iourably buried, — Or, in the 
Inspired Words of a great Person, — So, O Lord, let all thine 
Ene?nies perish / 

A Letter to the Lord Chancellour, exposing to him 
the Sentiments of the People, with some pertinent 
Advice in the Conclusion. 

My Lord, 
I'd praise your Lordship, but you've had your Share 
Of that before, if not too much by far ; 
And now a nobler Field for Curses are : 
Yet I'll not curse, but leave you to the Croud, 
Who never baulk their Rage, but speak aloud : 
In all the Lab'rinths of your Crimes they'll track ye, 
Worse than ten thousand Furies they'll attack ye. 

We talk not here of Penal Laws or Test, 
Nor how you, King of Terrors, in the West, 
With more than humane Cruelty, opprest 
Those whose Shades now stab through your anxious Breast. 
To these I leave you, each with brandish'd Dart 
Throughly revenge his Quarrel at your Heart. 
For me, I'll only let your Lordship see 
How they resent your chang'd Felicity. 

Now may you hear the People as they scoure 
Along, not fear to damn the Chancellour : 
The Women too, and all the tender Crew, 
That us'd to pity all, now laugh at you. 



%nvH (Became ^effcepis* 333 

The very Boys, how do they grin and prate, 

And giggle at the Bills upon your Gate ! 

Nay, rather than be frustrate of their Hope, 

The Women will contribute for a Rope : 

And those fine Locks that no bless'd Spark might touch, 

On this Account Ketch may, they love my Lord so much. 

Oh for Dispensing now! Ah ! Now's the Time ! 

Your Eloquence will hardly blanch the Crime ; 

And all the Turnings of Your Proteus-Wit, 

With all your little Tricks, won't help a bit : 

Ev'n that fine Tongue, in which your Lordship's Trust is, 

Now won't, although sometimes it baffled Justice : 

No Ignoramus Juries shall perplex ye, 

But with their Billa Verdt now they'll vex ye. 

From their dire Claws, no Hiding-hole you'll find ; 

They speak their own now, not a Party's Mind : 

Not now, as heretofore, when on the Bench 

Flattery and Daubing had such Influence, 

And Jeffreys for a Gift would with the Laws dispence. 

But granting all our Laws be out of Joint, 

Why yet they do not fear to gain the Point : 

A High Commission may the Cause decide, 

Your Lordship by a Butcher may be try'd, 

When by Commission he is dignify'd. 

His Power you must not doubt, if he be satisfy'd. 

This 'tis they mean, 'tis this they would have done ; 
But I wou'd chouse 'em ev'ry Mother's Son ; 
Troth I'd 'en hang my self, and soon have done. 
If you've no Halter, never make a Pother ; 
Take but a Greater, one's as good as t'other : 
For, Lord ! Should such a Man as you submit 
To be the publick Laughter of each grinning Cit ! 
Else, my Lord, take a Razor, never fear, 
And cut your Lordship's Throat from Ear to Ear : 
'Tis feasible enough ; you know who did it ; 
Cut both the Jug'lar Veins thro' if you can, 
Else you'll say Essex was the stouter Man. 

I am your Lordship's, in any Thing of This Nature. 
From the little House over-against Tyburn, 

where the People are almost dead with 

Expectation of you. 

Jeffrey's ELEGY. 

I very well remember on a Night, 
Or rather in tYizfieeft of Morning- Light, 
When sweet Aurora with a smiling Eye 
Call'd up the Birds to wonted Melody. 



334 %& %\U and 2Deatf) of 

Dull Morpheus with his Weight upon me leant, 

Half waking, and yet sleeping thus I Dream? d. 

Methoughts I saw a Lawyer at his Book 

Studying Pecunia, but never Cooke ; 

He scorned Littleton and Plowden too, 

With mouldy Authors he'd have nought to do. 

Next Stage I saw him on was Hicks's-Hall, 

And heard him mightily to roar and bawl, 

Never did City- Cry er louder yatd. 

The People star'd at such a Noise uncouth, 

Who is't, cries one ? Why 'tis the City's Mouth. 

Then straight I saw him plac'd, the more's the Pity, 

To be the Speaking Trumpet of the City ; 

Knight and Recorder he was made together, 

This Man, thought I, will live in any Weather : 

Money came in, he then grew mighty rich, 

And to climb higher had a deadly Itch. 

Then presently a Popish Priest came to him, 

That Square Cap Curr, thought I, will sure undo him. 

Wilt thou now be preferred, come hither, come. 

And be but reconciled unto Rome, 

And for Advancement thou may'st rest upon her, 

None of her Sons e'er wanted Wealth or Honour. 

Do but declare against the Whigs, and say, 

Thou hat'st the Ill-contriv'd Fanatick Way. 

With that, me thoughts I saw him tack about, 

And straight he courted that curs'd Romish Rout ; 

Esteemed it Happiness enough to go, 

And kiss his HoJiness's stinking Toe. 

Next Place I saw him in was Justice Chair, 

Who fled away, because she saw hi?n there. 

He with Commission rid the Land about, 

But still he aim'd to keep fair Justice out ; 

With angry Look he brow-beat Rightful Cause, 

And his bold Hand did sacrifice the Laws, 

Tore 'em, or trampled on 'em with his Paws. 

Poor Justice, being frighted, fled from Earth 

To Heaven, whence she did derive her Birth ; 

To the Eternal Justice she did go. 

And made Report what Monsters sate below. 

Inquisitors, like Spain, in England sate, 

And at their Pleasure steer'd the Helm of State. 

He rid the Western Circuit all around ; 

But where he came, no Justice cou'd be found : 

He improv'd his Talents Martrys to condemn, 

Hang, Draw and Quarter was his daily Theam. 

He bid 'em to confess, if e'er they hope 



3Cor& (Btorge 3jtffrep& 335 

To be reprieved from the fatal Rope. 

This seem'd a Favour, but he'd none forgive, 

The Favour was, a Day or two to live ; 

Which those had not that troubled him with Trial, 

Blood was his Business, and he'd have no Denial ; 

His Entrails Brass, his very Heart was Steel, 

Poor Souls he made his Judge's Courage feel. 

How valiant to condemn, when in his Power, 

Two Hundred he could sentence in an Hour. 

Guilty, or not, to him was all a Case, 

On Martyrs Bodies he did Honour raise, 

And to destroy by Retail thought it base. 

The Blood of Protestants for Vengeance cry, 

And will, I fear, to all Eternity. 

Although kind Death had made him scape Man's Doom, 

And quietly hath hurl'd him in his Tomb. 

Then next methought I saw him placed higher, 

O wither will this Canibal aspire ? 

The Purse, the Mace, and all the Honour that 

Belongeth to Lord Chancellor of State ; 

Made fat with Treason, he did daily thrive, 

Till to his highest Pitch he did arrive. 

The Church of England saw a Traitor lurch, 

Who went about to undermine their Church ; 

Witness else Maudlin Colledge, and the rest, 

He was the stoutest Stickler for the Test, 

But could not help it 'cause he was so high ; 

He soar'd above the Sight of humble Eye, 

Abhorr'd Petitioners, as heretofore, 

Such Varlets still was banisht from his Door : 

Now being on the Top of Fortune's Wheel, 

The giddy Goddess did begin to reel- 

A Warning 'tis to all depending on her, 

Of Ice is made the Pinacle of Honour, 

Or Glassy Substance, brittle shinning Hew, 

That afar off doth make a Golden Shew. 

Those that are low admire it, and would climb, 

Although they break their Necks the very Time. 

And now methoughts he hearing Preparations, 

That were a forming in the Neighbotir Nations, 

Prepares for his own Safety now in Time. 

Thinking the Thunder would on him incline ; 

Therefore being ask'd what were the Prince's Heads 

Of s Declaration, feelingly he said, 

His Head was one, aim'd at 'mongst many others, 

Knowing in Villany he'd many Brothers. 

With that betook him to his Heels, and run, 



336 %l)t 1L\U ana 2Deatf), $c* 

Thinking by Bribes he could not Ruin shun : 

He took a Colliers Coat to Sea to go ; 

Was ever Chancellour arrayed so ! 

But like to like, he'd needs anticipate, 

Devil Incarnate, Collier of State. 

He dealt in Deeds of Darkness, black as Night. 

Such a Black Habit needs must fit him right. 

Brave Sight to see him in a Collier's Skin ; 

Come, Pence a Piece, my Masters enter in. 

My Lord Mayor swooned, and was stricken dumb, 

To see his metamorphos'd Lordship come. 

A Countryman he flouted once, I hear, 

Ask'd what he had for swearing, 'Twas too dear, 

You Bumpkin in the Leather Jacket there ; 

To whom the Hobnail quickly did reply, 

Had'st thou no more for lying, than poor I 

Have here for swearing, thou might'st quickly wear 

A Leather one, instead of Plush Thread-bare. 

Now had he seen my Lord in Colliers Buff, 

Bumpkin had past for Prophet sure enough. 

The Mobile and Rout with Clubs and Staves, 

Swore that his Carcass ne'er should lye in Graves. 

The'y eat him up alive within an Hour, 

Their Teeth should tear his Flesh, and him devour ; 

Limb him they would, as Boys on Shrovetide do, 

Some cryed, / am for a Wing and Arm ; for what are you ? 

I am for his Head, says one ; for his Brains, says t'other, 

And I am for his Sowse ; his Ears, another ; 

Oh, cries a third, I am for his Buttocks brave, 

Nine Pound of Stakes from them I mean to have ; 

I know the Rogue is fleshy, says a fourth ; 

For Sweet-breads, Lungs, and Heart they're nothing worth ; 

Yes, quoth another, but not good to eat, 

A Heart of Steel will ne'er prove tender Meat, 

But we must them dispose another Way, 

A good Rich Lawyer will a round Sum pay, 

For such a Set of loud and bellowing Lungs, 

Enough to serve a Hundred S ten tors Tongues. 

We'll sell his Heart to th' Pope to make a Show, 

A Relique on't, and he'll get Money too. 

But whilst they were dividing them in Thought, 

The Lord Mayor order'd Soldiers to be brought, 

Who rescued him from out the Rabbles Power. 

And straight away they took him to the Tower, 

With much ado he there was brought at last, 

To think on all his wicked Actions past. 



AN ALPHABETICAL TABLE 



OF THE 



CHIEF MATTERS CONTAINED IN THIS BOOK, 



Ansley'siAbraham^astSpeech 247 

— His last Letter 248 

Argyle (Earl), his Sufferings. . . I j I 

— His last Speech 172 

Armstrong, his Sufferings and 

Dying Words 86 

— His Elegy 90 

Arnold, a brief Account of his 

Sufferings 17 

Askew' s Letter to his Father.. 248 

— Another Letter to his Friend 249 
— The Account his Friend 

gives of him 249 

Author's Sentiments concern- 
ing the Western Sufferers ... 279 
A xminster and Honiton, an Ac- 
count of those executed there 218 



Bateman's Sufferings 

Battiscomb, his Life and Suf- 
ferings 

— The Account given of him 
by his Relations 

— His last Words 

— A further Account of his 
Behaviour 

— A Poem on a Lady that 
came to Jeffreys to beg Mr. 
Battiscomb 's Life 

— His Character 

Blanchard, a cruel Parson, 
reviles a Goaler for not whip- 
ping a Boy half enough, 
with the Goaler's Answer... 

Boddy's last Speech 

Bragg V Dying Speech and 
Behaviour 

Bridport and Lyme, an Account 
of those that suffered there 

Burd, General Relations writ- 
ten by him and other West- 
Country Gentlemen 

— His Letters from Beckington 
with a remarkable Account 
of William Hussey and Tho. 
Paul, who suffer' d in the West 

— His Postscript to his Letter, 
giving an Account of his own 
Sufferings and Deliverance 



96 
144 

H5 
146 

H7 



147 
148 



276 
229 

200 

205 

263 

265 
268 



Civilities of theCitizens oiExon 

to the Western Sufferers ... 279 
Colledge, his Life, Trial, and 

last Words 19 

— The Verses upon his Picture 27 
— Poem written by himself .. . 27 

Cornish's Sufferings 91 

— A hint at the Occasion of 

his Martyrdom 92 

— Passages before his Death. . . 93 
— An Account of a Poem made 

in his Time 95 

— His Character 96 

Cox's Sufferings and Tri- 
umphant Death 211 

Clerk of the Arraigns, his 
Speech to Jeffreys at Mr. 
Tutchin's Sentence 272 

Dangerfield, his Life and Suf- 
ferings 105 

— His Character 107 

— His Elegy 107 

— His Ghost to Jeffreys 115 

Essex (Earl) his Life and 

Martyrdom 28 

— His Character 41 

— His Elegy 42 

Evans (Minister) his Behaviour 

and Sufferings 219 

Gaunfs Sufferings 166 

— Her Dying Speech 167 

— Her P.S. to the said Speech 170 

Gatchet's Sufferings 182 

GatchiVs Behaviour and Dying- 
words 258 

Glisson of Yeovil, his Suffer- 
ings 216 

Godfrey (Sir Edmond-bury), 

his Life and Martyrdom ... 1 
— Anagram upon his Name... 16 
— Poem on his Death 17 

Hall (Richard) of Culliton, 

his Sufferings 216 

Handing's Case 220 

Hew lings (both Benjamin and 
William), an Account of 
their Behaviour both before 



338 



#n &lp|jabrttcal Rafale of tlje 



and at their execution, with 
several letters to divers of 
their Relations 128 

— Further Account of Mr. W. 
Heivling 129 

— A short Letter written just as 
he was going to Execution. . 134 

— He is executed with Dr. 
Temple^ Mr. Madders, and 
others 140 

— A Letter of his Sister to her 
Mother 136 

— Further Account of Mr. B. 
Hewling 136 

—His last letter before his 
Execution 142 

— Their Characters 143 

Hicks {John) last Speech 231 

— His Letter to his Nephew 
the Day before his Death . . . 242 

— His Letter to his Wife 243 

— Another Letter to his Wife 244 

Hymns made by several Suf- 
ferers Ill 

Holloway, his Life, Sufferings, 
and Dying- words 82 

Holway of Lyme, his Be- 
haviour before and at the 
Place of Execution 250 

— His last Words 251 

Holmes (Col.) his Sufferings .. 207 

— His Dying- words 207 

— His last Prayer 208 

— A further Account of his 
Behaviour 209 

Honis Accusation 70 

— His Dying- words 70 

Hucker's Letter to the Book- 
seller concerning his Father 259 
— His Letter to his Friend . . . 260 

Jeffreys {George, late Lord 
Chancellour), his Life and 
Death 291 

— His Speech to the Jury at 
the Trial of a Parson in the 
West 264 

— Dedication to G. L. Jeffreys 285 

— Poem to the Memory of the 
Lord Jeffreys 287 

— His Birth and Parentage ... 292 



— His Behaviour at School . . . 292 

— His Father Prophecies that 
he ? il die with his Shoes and 
Stockings on 293 

— His Dream -293 

— His entring himself in the 
Inner Temple 293 

— His Marriage and Early Son 294 

— Is made Recorder of London 294 

— His Speech about the King's 
Psalter 295 

— He is turned out of his Re- 
cordership 296 

— His Abhorrence of Peti- 
tioning 297 

— His being on his Knees be- 
fore the House of Commons 297 

— His ill Practices whilst Re- 
corder ....". 299 

— Being curb'd by Baron 
Weston, he weeps for Anger 300 

— The Answer of one in a 
Leather Doublet 300 

— His Question to a Musician, 
with his Repartee 300 

— How he got a Gentleman 
his Wife's Fortune out of 
Guild- Hall 301 

— His Speech to one with a 
great Beard, and his Repartee 301 

— His barbarous dealing with 
Mr. Moses Pitt 301 

— His Speech to the Ladies 
upon Mr. Tutchirfs Sentence 272 

— His vehement Discourse to 
the Jury against the Lord 
Russel 304 

— His sordid treatment of Mr. 

Baxter 304 

— A Narrative of Monmouth? s 
whole Expedition while in 
the West, which was the 
Prelogue to Jeffreys' s Cruel- 
ties there 305 

— His secret Villanies .. 314 

— His Bloody Practices in the 

West 314 

— The Charge given by the 
Lord Jeffreys at Bristol, in 
his Return from his Western 
Campaign 319 






C&fef St£atttr0 contained in tfjfg IS00L 339 



— He calls the Mayor of Bristol 

Kidnapping Rogue 324 

— He is made Lord Chancel- 
lour for his Cruelties in the 

West 324 

— How he raised Money by 

procuring Pardons 324 

— He is made Baron of Wem 328 
— What followed thereupon... 328 
— The Pr. of Orange approach- 
ing, he flies to Wapping in a 

Disguise 329 

— He is taken and brought be- 
fore the Lord Mayor 329 

— Is committed to the Tower 330 
— The Western Widows' Peti- 
tion against him while in the 

Tower 330 

— He dies in the Tower 331 

— His Character 331 

— A Letter sent to him there 332 

—His Elegy ... 333 

yenkyn {William) his Be- 
haviour both before and after 
his Execution, with several 
Letters to divers of his Re- 
lations 149 

— His Letter to his Sister Scott 152 
— His Letter to his Mother ... 153 
— His Letter to his Sister 

Gourden 154 

— His Character 155 

yervaise, a Hatter, cruelly 

whipt, and why 276 

Introduction to this Western 
Martyrology, shewing the 
Reasons why this Work is 

undertaken 

yohnson, Accusation against 

him E03 

— His Address to all English 

Protestants in the Army ... 103 
— His Character 104 

Kirk's Cruelties related by an 
Eye and Ear-witness, who 
also gives an Account of 
other Western Barbarities... 261 

King(John), an Account of his 
last Speech at the Place of 
Execution at Edinburgh ... 178 



Kidd (y<?kn) his last Speech 
at the place of Execution at 
Edinburgh 182 

Kidd {Ca.pt. ) his dying Speech 
in the West of England 224 

Larke (Sampson), his Sufferings 210 

— His last Words 210 

— Some further Passages re- 
lating to Mr. S. Larke, with 
his Prayer when Executed 213 
— His Letter to his Friend just 

before his Execution 215 

Lawrence (Thomas), his Case 

and Sufferings 221 

Lisle ( Lady) , her Sufferings ... 156 

— Her last Speech 156 

List of all them that were con- 
demned and suffered in the 

West, 1685.. = 325 

Lyme, an Ale-house Woman 
of that Town cruelly whipt, 
and why 277 

Madder's Sufferings 222 

— His last Words upon the 

Ladder 223 

— His last Prayer 224 

Matthew's last Speech and 

Prayer at the Place of Exec. 25 1 
Monmouth (Duke) his Suffer- 
ings and Death 187 

— His Declaration in the West 188 
— A brief Abstract of his true 

Speech 197 

— His Elegy 198 

Monmonth and Argyle being 
both defeated, what followed 1 99 

Nelthrope (Richard) his Suffer- 
ings 158 

— His Letter to his Parents, 

Brothers, and Sisters 159 

— His Letter to his Children.. 161 

— His last Speech 163 

Noise' s Sufferings 116 

— He engages in the Prentices' 

Petition to the Lord Mayor 118 
— A Copy of the said Petition 118 
— An Account of 30000 Pren- 
tices that signed it 1 10 

— The Speech that was made 

at presenting this Petition.., 120 



34° 



Sin jaipljabetfcal 'Cable, $c. 



— The Lord Mayor's Answer 
to the Prentices' Speech ... 1 21 

— The Names of the 20 Pre- 
senters of this Petition 122 

— A Poem dedicated to 'em... 122 

Oates, an Account of his Life 

and Sufferings 98 

— His Character 102 

Parrofs Sufferings 229 

— His Behaviour at the Place 
of Execution 229 

— His last Speech 229 

Poem to the Memory of those 

who suffered in the West, 

next the Title. 
Pott's Sufferings, Courage and 

Dying- words 219 

Parson, one tried hy Jeffrey tor 

\odkmgoY\Monmoutk y sArvciy 265 

Review of what has been writ- 
ten in this Western Martyr ol. 279 
Robin otCharmoutti s^xxRzxmsgy 226 

— His last Sayings 227 

Rose's Sufferings and Courage 218 
RosewelPs Trial and Acquittal 1 71 
Rouse's Trial and Accusation 68 

— His Dying-words ...!., 69 

— His Behaviour at his Death 69 

Rumbold, his Sufferings 174 

— A larger Account of his Suf- 
ferings with his last Speech, 
and several things that past 

at his Trial 175 

Russet (Lord), his Life, Trial 

and Martyrdom 44 

— Names of his Jury 48 

— His Elegy 59 

— His Character 60 

— An Account of his last Speech 6 1 
Sandfoi'd's last Speech at the 

Place of Execution 254 

Satchel's Behaviour and Dying 

Words 253 

Sherbom, an Account of those 
Executed there, with their 

Dying- words 2 16 

Sidney {Algernon), his Suffer- 
ings, Trial, and Martyrdom 72 
— His Petition to his Majesty 76 

— An Account of the Paper he 



delivered to the Sheriff on 

Tower Hill 79* 

— His Epitaph 81 

— His Character 82 

Smith of Chardstock, his Be- 
haviour and Dying-Speech 202 

Speak ( Charles), his Sufferings 
and last Words 227 

Speed of Culliton, his Beha- 
viour and Dying Speech ... 204 

Sprrague and Cleg executed at 
Culliton, with their Dying- 
words 218 

Spr ague (John), a further Ac- 
count of him 205 

Temple (Dr.) his last Speech 225 
Tyler'% Sufferings 21 1 

— He is executed with some 
other Persons 211 

— His last Speech 211 

— A Hymn made by him a 

little before his Execution 212 
Tripp (Jacob) his Sufferings 

and Barbarous Execution ... 268 
Tutchin (Mr. John), his Case 

and Trial 27c 

— His Cruel Sentence 272 

— His Petition to the King 

to be Hang'd 273 

— Howheavoided his Sentence 273 
— He is popt into a Pardon... 274 
— He visitsy^r^ in theTower, 

with the Disc, between 'em 275 

Walcot, his Life, Trial, and 

Martyrdom 64 

— An Account of his Speech 68 

— His last Prayer 69 

Western Transactions, the In- 
troduction to 'em, with gene- 
ral Observations upon* em ... 123 

— The Lives and Dying 
Speeches of those that suf- 
fered in the West 199 

Whippings in the West 222 

— Mr. Stayle whipt 222 

— Mrs. Brown whipt 222 

Wiseman, a Barber's Boy of 
Weymouth, of 14 or 15 Years 
of Age, cruelly whipt, and 
for what 276 



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and Distilling — Domestic Medicine — Domestic Chemistry — Clothing 

Garden Management — Law of Agreements, Leases, I O U's, Bills 

of Exchange, &c. — Trade, Artistic, and Scientific Facts — Etiquette 

and Manners — In-door and Out-door Games — Domestic Pets — 

Domestic Pests — Ladies Work — Something for Everybody — and 

other matters. By the late Editor of the Family Friend. 

* # * This is one of the most complete books oj the kind ever offered to the 

Public, and published at an unusually low price. 

2. THE BOOK OF DATES : or, Treasury of Universal Refer- 

ence, comprising the principal Events in All Ages, from the 
Earliest Records to the Present Time. With Index of 
Events and Numerous Tables of Permanent Interest to the 
Student. Demy 8vo, cloth, price \Qs. 6d., more than 800 pages 
of closely printed matter. 

3. A COMPLETE PRACTICAL GUIDE TO HER MA- 

JESTY'S CIVIL SERVICE ; containing in full the Exami- 
nation Papers for every Department used since the Appointment 
of the Commissioners ; Full Details of the Limits of Age and 
Qualifications of Candidates ; Hints to Candidates for every 
Office ; and Copious Tables of the Emoluments and Superannu- 
ation Allowances of every Civil Servant in Great Britain, 
Ireland, India, and the Colonies. By a Certificated Candidate, 
an Officer of Her Majesty's Civil Service. Crown 8vo, cloth, 
2s. 6d. 

4. THE MANSE GARDEN ; or, Plain Instructions in the Plea- 

sant Culture of Fruit Trees, Flowers, Vegetables, and Sweet 
Herbs, for the Beauty and Profit of the Villa or Farm. By 
Nathaniel Taterson, D.D. Fifteenth Thousand, Crown 
8vo, cloth, 2J. 

This is a complete and practical guide for gardening in all depart- 
ments. It is divided into three parts, viz., Forest and Fruit Trees, 
Vegetables and Sweet Herbs, and Flowers, on all of which such in- 
structions are given as can be easily carried out. This work also con- 
tains a select list of trees and flowers, a list of hardy, half hardy, and 
tender annuals, biennials, perennials, alphabetical list of particulai 
flowers, monthly summary of gardening work in season, &c. &c. 



8, Lov ell's Court, Paternoster Row, London. 






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